The Magic Between Us
by Shadow of the Elements
Summary: Marinette, a Gryffindor, and Adrien, a Slytherin, have been given Miraculouses to protect Hogwarts from Hawkmoth, an evil wizard who uses the Akuma Kedavra, a spell more powerful than the three curses, to control the residents of Hogwarts. With their excessive homework, Quidditch games, and the upcoming Triwizard Tournament, can Marinette and Adrien defeat Hawkmoth? Hogwarts AU
1. Prologue

**So, OTPeople, this is my Hogwarts AU! I highly suggest you read my other fic titled 'Fanfic Ideas- Please Read!' before you read this because it explains a lot of things I might refer to in this fic. Idk how long this is going to be, but I hope it will last at least ten chapters. I'm also creating an actual name for Mrs. Agreste because we know we can't call her 'Mama Agreste' the whole time. She will be named Avery Lionne. Here you go!**

 **...**

Everyone in the Dupain-Cheng family had let out one gigantic breath of relief when an owl had flown into the bakery, carrying Marinette's acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

It would've been _extremely_ embarrassing if Marinette had been a Squib, for everyone had certainly expected her to be a wizard.

Before Tom, a Hufflepuff, and Sabine, a Ravenclaw, married, the Dupains and Chengs had tied for second place in "Longest Lineage of Wizards."

(The Weasleys won first place, of course.)

Seriously, there was a plaque.

There hadn't been a Muggle in either family for three hundred eighty-nine years.

Everyone, from Sabine's ancient grandfather, Fu Xi Cheng, to Tom's fourth cousin seven times removed, Lucinda Dupain, to eccentric Aunt Gertrude (who no one was quite sure was related to either family), had been accepted to Hogwarts.

There had been plenty of Ravenclaws, Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and even the rare Slytherin.

And so everyone in the Dupain-Cheng family celebrated when that owl came, bearing a sealed envelope in its talons.

They held the party at the park.

Everyone on both sides of the family had showed up.

Now, to the passing Muggle the party simply would've been deemed as another family reunion.

But if a smart and curious Muggle had passed by, they would've noticed that every family member had a stick in their pocket.

And if they stared at the party-goers any longer, they would've noticed that some of the guests had _wands_ in their hands, not sticks, and that they were causing platters of food to _float_.

But, luckily, the Muggles never suspected a thing.

Because the Dupain-Cheng wizards were careful, as every magical being in the Wizarding World must be.

 **...**

Now, the Agreste family was _quite_ different.

Gabriel Agreste was a smart, serious Ravenclaw, the son of two of the richest wizards in the wizard society.

All of his grandparents were Muggles, but that didn't mean that the Agrestes were just another common reputation-less wizard family.

Heavens, no.

Gabriel's parents were the most famous people in the entire Wizarding World.

It was _very_ unexpected, for nobody had ever heard of a rich wizard family that didn't even own a single Knut fifteen years before.

It was even more unexpected when Gabriel married Avery Lionne, a Muggle-born Gryffindor girl.

They had met when Gabriel stood up for her when she was being bullied by a Hufflepuff named Andre Bourgeois.

They soon became best friends.

Avery was the warmth to Gabriel's cold.

They married five years after they had graduated from Hogwarts, and soon had a son named Adrien.

But then, there was an uprising of arsonist wizards who called themselves The Firestorms.

They were caught right after they caused an important death.

Unfortunately, the important death they caused was that of Mrs. Agreste.

Gabriel had taken Adrien out for some ice cream, but Avery was sick and had to stay home.

The father and son had returned to a burnt home and a mother who was dead from smoke inhalation.

She was put in a glass coffin filled with her favorite flowers, lilacs, which were watered by her heartbroken family's tears.

Avery's death meant so much more to Gabriel, for she was more than his wife; she was his partner.

Ah, this is where we stumble upon a secret that Gabriel and Avery harbored for many years and kept from everyone, even their beloved son.

You see, they owned Miraculouses, which could grant great power to the ones who owned them.

As soon as they owned these Miraculouses, their patronuses changed into that of Nooroo and Duusu, god-like beings called kwamis, which could turn ordinary wizards into ones of ultimate legend.

They owned the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses.

Avery turned into Lilac Wings and Gabriel turned into Fantail.

Remember those Firestorms I told you about?

They fought against them for years, but the Muggle police eventually caught them after Avery's death.

With the death of his brave, beautiful, compassionate partner, Gabriel's icy walls built themselves up again, separating him from his motherless son and the rest of the world as well.

Adrien became a broken boy, forgetting the feeling of love.

He had known he was a wizard for a long time, and he longed to go to Hogwarts, to have friends.

Perhaps the feeling of friendship could fill the hole in his heart that both his father and mother left.

And so he waited for his acceptance letter.

And waited. And _waited_.

But it never came.

At least, that's what Adrien thought.

Little did he know that his father was intercepting those letters, trying to prevent his son from going to a place filled with happy yet sorrowful memories of the late Avery Lionne.

 **...**

 **Okay guys, just wanted to say: I actually cried when I wrote about Mrs. Agreste's death. No, seriously. Btw, just want to apologize for my horrible ability to come up with superhero names. I seriously facepalmed when I wrote about 'Lilac Wings and Fantail' because I couldn't come up with anything better. So, yeah, that was just some stuff about Adrien and Marinette's lineage. Stay tuned, OTPeople!**


	2. All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!

**Yay, it's time for the actual story to begin! Yep, it's the first day at Hogwarts. I present to you: *trumpet fanfare* Chapter 1 of The Magic Between Us! And btw, I checked and I realized there are at least four fanfics called 'The Magic Between Us,' but I love the title so I'm not changing it. Quick note: I'm changing Mr. Damocles' role to the librarian. Prepare to read, OTPeople!**

 **…...**

 ** _Chapter 1: All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!_**

"Do you have everything, Marinette?" Sabine asked her daughter.

"Mom, for the last time, I double-checked and triple-checked _everything_! Do you want me to quadruple-check it, too?" Marinette complained, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"But you forgot your owl," Tom said.

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows.

"But I don't have an-"

"Yes you do," Tom insisted as he brought out a cage with a petite milky white owl inside from behind his back.

"Thank you so much!" Marinette said, wrapping her parents in a group hug. "Is it a boy or girl? What's its name?"

"Her name is Sugar," Sabine replied. "A sweet little owl for our sweet little girl."

She handed the cage to Marinette.

Tom gave his daughter a box of macarons.

"What do _these_ ones do?" Marinette asked him.

"I never said they were magic," Tom protested.

"Oh _please_ ," Marinette scoffed. "I know you. You wouldn't hand any _normal_ macarons to me on my first day at Hogwarts."

"Fine, you caught me," Tom admitted. "They can be any flavor you want them to be."

Marinette's sky-blue eyes lit up in excitement.

"You guys are the best!" she squealed.

"Okay, time for one final hug. We can't let Marinette be late, after all!" Tom said as he and Sabine gave Marinette their last hug.

"Have a good time, honey. We'll miss you!" Sabine said, wiping a tear from her eye.

Marinette carefully placed Sugar and the box of macarons on top of the cart in front of her.

"Nine and three-fourths, here I come!" Marinette whooped as she raced towards a brick post, pushing the cart with all of her belongings.

She disappeared through.

And immediately crashed into someone.

Unfortunately, that someone was Chloe Bourgeois, the daughter of the Minister of Magic.

"Of course _you're_ here," Chloe scoffed as a red-haired girl helped her up.

Marinette immediately remembered the rather _unfortunate_ time she met Chloe.

Her parents were catering at Chloe's eighth birthday party, so Chloe had been forced to invite Marinette.

 _"Hi, Chloe! My name's Marinette! Nice to meet you!" Marinette greeted her, sticking out her hand for a handshake._

 _Chloe didn't hear her._

 _"The food here is horrible. Especially the dessert," she commented, still ignoring Marinette._

 _A tear rolled down Marinette's cheek. No one had ever insulted her parents' treats like that._

 _Marinette tapped Chloe on the shoulder._

 _"This one isn't so bad. I helped my mom bake it myself," Marinette said as she offered Chloe a piece of cake on a plate._

 _Chloe turned around._

 _"That's exactly why the food is horrible. It's made by peasants like you, Maritrash," she said._

 _Marinette ran away and locked herself in a bathroom._

She ended up staying there for the rest of the night.

Unfortunately, Marinette's parents had ended up catering every Bourgeois-related event after that.

Which meant that Marinette had to see Chloe at least three times each month.

Yay!

 _Not_.

"Nice to see you again, Chloe," Marinette lied to her enemy.

"Let's go, Sabrina," Chloe said to her servant - _ahem_ \- friend. "Besides, we have to go save a seat for Adrikins."

Marinette didn't know who "Adrikins" was, (she highly doubted that was his real name) but she assumed he must be another one of those rich, snobby brats that Chloe was friends with.

She turned around to board the magical train and saw that an old man in robes with a Hawaiian flower print was in the way of a group of some teenage jerks who were skateboarding (more like hovering on levitating skateboards) through the station.

She grabbed the old man's hand and led him away.

"Thank you for that. I owe you my life," he said, with a tone of deep respect and gratitude.

He walked away.

"Everyone on the Hogwarts Express!" the new groundskeeper, a grumpy man named Otis, shouted.

Marinette grabbed the box of magic macarons, her pencil case, her sketchbook, and her wallet as the train's elves wheeled away everyone's carts and pets.

She boarded the Hogwarts Express ands sat down in the first carriage she saw.

Chloe entered the carriage. "Sorry, _Maritrash_ , but this seat is reserved for me, Sabrina and Adrikins, so-"

A girl with tan skin, hazel eyes, glasses and reddish-brown hair interrupted her.

"I don't see your name on it."

" _Excuse_ _me_?!" Chloe indignantly asked.

"I don't see your name on it. Therefore, it's not your seat and you have no right to make other people move just to suit your needs," the girl confidently said.

"Do you know who my father is?" Chloe said in a sweet yet murderous tone.

"Yeah, you're the Minister of Magic's daughter, right? I've heard about you. You're just another rich bully who thinks she can use her daddy to get everything she wants," the girl continued.

Marinette's jaw dropped in shock.

This new girl actually had the guts to tell Chloe the truth.

The girl walked over to Marinette.

"C'mon, let's go sit over there," the girl said as she pointed to a different carriage. "Besides, it has windows."

Marinette grabbed her belongings and followed the girl.

"I almost forgot to ask. What's your name?" Marinette asked.

"I'm Alya," she said.

"I'm Marinette," Marinette replied as they sat down.

There was only one other person in the carriage.

A boy with headphones around his neck slumped in one seat, clearly asleep.

He looked a bit like Alya.

Marinette tripped on the boy's foot and woke the him up.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Alya, and this is Marinette. Who are you?" Alya countered as she helped Marinette up.

"I'm Nino, resident DJ," the boy said. "And according to Chloe, I'm also 'an intolerable peasant.' In other words, I'm just like everyone else."

Alya laughed.

"I heard there's going to be _another_ rich brat this year. She calls him Adrikins, so his name's probably Adrien. He's most likely her _boyfriend_ ," she gagged.

"I hope Adrien isn't as bad as Chloe. But with my kind of luck, he'll probably be _worse_ ," Marinette sighed.

"That's a big fat lie right there," Nino stated.

"What? Is Adrien actually _nice_?" Alya asked.

" _Nobody's_ worse than Chloe. Compared to her, Satan is an angel," Nino laughed.

"How do you two know Chloe?" Marinette questioned.

"I've just met her, but she's practically the definition of 'stereotypical mean girl.' Before I boarded the Hogwarts Express, I saw her screaming her head off at two girls named Juleka and Rose just because they accidentally chipped one of her nails when they bumped into her," Alya said.

"I've actually known Chloe for years. I'm a half-blood, you see. My dad left before I knew him and my mom's the magical one. She was in the same class as Mr. Bourgeois, so she's been trying to get Chloe and me to be friends ever since we were little. Unfortunately, Chloe kinda hates everyone, so I really wasn't surprised when she snapped my new broomstick in half on our first playdate. And then _she_ blamed _me_. She's pretty much the reason I suck at Quidditch. But it's okay though, because I got my magic beats with me at all times. They play whatever song I tell them to play," Nino admitted.

"Chloe's a brat," he and Alya said at the same time.

"Jinx!" Alya yelled and punched him in the shoulder. "You owe me a Butterbeer!"

"I've never met people brave enough to actually say the truth about Chloe out loud. Want some macarons?" Marinette offered her newfound friends.

Nino and Alya each took a macaron from the box and popped it in their mouth.

"Ooh! Butterbeer Espresso Almond Caramel Vanilla Fudge!" Alya squealed in delight, accidentally spraying crumbs as she talked. "With a hint of pumpkin."

"Mine tastes like chocolate. Lots and _lots_ of chocolate," Nino said. His eyes suddenly widened. "No way. Is it? It _is_! There's popcorn, too!"

"How'd you know our favorite flavors? 'Cause I still don't exactly know the side effects of being a wizard," Alya asked Marinette.

"They were enchanted to know what your favorite flavors are. Besides, what did you mean by side effects?" Marinette responded.

"I'm Muggle-born," Alya sheepishly admitted. "The people from Hogwarts sent a big book of everything I needed to know about the campus. Which also had a pretty long list of things I shouldn't be freaked out by, like things disappearing and people turning into animals, and stuff like that."

"Yeah, you actually seem pretty calm for a Muggle-born wizard. I heard they changed a lot of stuff about Hogwarts in the last ten years," Nino said.

"Starting with that the Muggle parents of people like Alya can't know about the Wizarding World. My mom told me the whole story. About nine years ago, there was a couple with a boy our age, and when he got his acceptance letter, his parents freaked out and told the police about Hogwarts. Apparently, the envelope was floating and it vanished after their son opened it. They were put in a mental institute because everyone thought that they were insane," Marinette explained.

"Yeah, the Muggles are becoming smarter these days," Nino told his friends. "Ten years ago, they started to become suspicious about the amount of elementary school kids who suddenly switched schools between fifth and sixth grade. So, that's why Hogwarts is now a high school. I gotta go to the bathroom, so laters."

Nino zipped out of the carriage.

"I read all about Hogsmeade," Alya gushed. "I can't wait to go! They gave me a complimentary Butterbeer in the 'Welcome to Hogwarts' package, and I swear that stuff is better than a double espresso in the morning."

"Well, that explains your very specific favorite flavor," Marinette giggled.

"Do you want to see the 'Welcome to Hogwarts' package?" Alya asked.

"Sure, why not?" Marinette shrugged.

Alya handed a rather large box to Marinette.

Marinette opened the box and took out a letter.

 _Dear Alya Cesaire,_

 _Congratulations! You have been accepted to the elite Wilshire Academy, a boarding school for students with exceptional technological skills. You have earned a 100% scholarship. The first day of school is August 28th. Please board the Wilshire Express at 9:00 am._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Brady Brixton, Wilshire's Headmaster_

"Wow, this surprisingly looks genuine," Marinette said, rather amused. "But the first day of school is today, September 5th, not August 28th."

"August 28th was when I bought my wand everything else. It's 10 ½ inches, maple wood, unicorn hair," Alya stated.

"Mine's 11 inches, cherry wood, dragon heartstring," Marinette replied.

"The letter's enchanted so that only I can see what it really says," Alya explained as Marinette handed back the letter.

"Dear Alya Cesaire, you've been accepted to Hogwarts, a boarding school for wizards. This is not a hoax. Please meet our groundskeeper, Otis, at the Leaky Cauldron at 9:00 am, on August 28th. He will explain more. Sincerely, Headmaster Fu," she read the letter out loud.

"What was your first reaction?" Marinette asked.

"I just accepted it," Alya responded. "I think I watch too much anime."

Marinette giggled.

Nino walked back into the carriage, looking much more relieved than before.

"I feel so much better now. I probably shouldn't have eaten so many Chocolate Frogs," he said as he read his newspaper. "Yes! The Heroic Hippogryphs won the Quidditch championship! My favorite team is victorious!"

 _"TONIGHT WE ARE VICTORIOUS, CHAMPAGNE POURING OVER-"_ Nino's headphones blared.

"Shut up!" Nino embarrassedly silenced them.

Alya snickered.

"Sorry about that," Nino sheepishly apologized. "Sometimes I have to be really careful what I say, or these stupid headphones of mine-"

 _"SHE'S GOT A SMILE THAT SEEMS TO ME, REMINDS ME OF CHILDHOOD MEMORIES!"_ a man's voice suddenly sang.

"Shut up!" Nino said. "I said stupid headphones of mine, not sweet child of mine!"

 _"OH OH OH OHHHHHH SWEET CHILD OF MIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!"_ a falsetto voice screeched.

"I give up," Nino sighed in defeat.

 _"DON'T YOU GIVE UP, NAH NAH NAH, DON'T YOU GIVE UP, NAH NAH NAH, LET ME LOVE YOU! LET ME LOVE YOU!"_

"It's okay, I don't really mind what we listen to," Marinette reassured Nino.

"Really? You don't care?" Nino asked.

 _"OH! OH! OH! I REALLY DON'T CARE!"_ Demi sang.

"This isn't the worst time it's done this. One time I yelled something very _colorful_ at my brother, and these beats decided to play a certain song nonstop for the rest of the day. Who knew there was a song called 'F*** You'?" Nino said.

The Hogwarts Express suddenly went over a bump that caused Marinette to drop her sketchbook.

Alya picked up the open sketchbook.

"Wow, these robe designs are killer! _You_ came up with these?" Alya gawked.

"Yeah," Marinette said, a visible blush on her cheeks. "They probably won't ever catch the eye of Gabriel Agreste, though. Mr. Agreste is the best robes designer in the history of robes designers. He's my idol."

The Hogwarts Express suddenly halted to a stop.

"Yo, why'd the train stop?" Nino asked.

Marinette and Alya shrugged.

"How are _we_ supposed to know?" Chloe sarcastically retorted from the next carriage over.

 _"Sorry for this slight inconvenience,"_ a voice over the loudspeaker apologized. _"It appears that we have a last-minute student arriving: Adrien Agreste."_

 **…...**

To say that Adrien was annoyed with his father was an understatement.

Adrien was peeved; no, he was _infuriated_ with his father.

Why, you may ask?

Gabriel Agreste had hidden Adrien's Hogwarts acceptance letter for an entire month.

Make that acceptance letterS.

With a capital S.

 _43 of them._

Adrien counted.

43 acceptance letters, and he had discovered the 44th just yesterday.

That owl had actually bothered to come to his window.

The last 43 owls had all been intercepted by his father.

"Why did you hide them?" Adrien angrily asked, even though he knew why.

"Homeschooling is a better option," Gabriel replied, refusing to say the truth.

It was because of Mom.

Adrien's dad was too heartbroken to send him to a place that reminded him of Mom.

Adrien's dad was too heartbroken to do anything that reminded him of Mom.

 _Unfortunately, loving and caring about me reminds him of Mom,_ Adrien bitterly thought. _That's why he doesn't do it anymore._

After lots of begging and pleading, Gabriel finally agreed.

But Adrien didn't know why his father had changed his mind.

Here's the reason.

Gabriel had looked into his son's eyes.

Those beautiful eyes, as vibrant and green as the summer leaves, reminded him of _her_.

They were too much like _her's._

"Avery…..." Gabriel mumbled.

"What?" Adrien asked.

 _I swear I just heard Father saying Mom's name,_ he thought.

"You may go to Hogwarts," Gabriel said, accepting his son's proposal. "But on one condition: you must continue all of your other activities, especially your modeling. And I will be the teacher of your robes designing class to keep an eye on you. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Adrien said, practically bursting with joy.

And now, Adrien was very late.

He was supposed to be on the Hogwarts Express three minutes ago, and yet they were still picking out quills.

"I think that this gray one is more practical," Nathalie stated.

"The white one is better," the Gorilla argued.

"I'll just take the black one," Adrien sighed.

Suddenly, he spotted an old man on the ground and helped him up.

"Thank you," the old man said, and stroked his beard wistfully.

Everyone failed to notice that he walked away with his cane slung over his back.

After thirty more minutes of the same type of "Pick this one Adrien! No, pick this! But this is better!" arguing between Nathalie and the Gorilla, they sped off towards the Hogwarts Express in the black flying limousine.

"Now we're late, all because of _you_ ," Nathalie coldly berated Adrien's chaffeur.

The Gorilla shrugged.

Adrien suddenly saw the train stop at a makeshift station.

"Hi," Adrien nervously greeted the conductor.

"Just get in," he grumbled.

Adrien frantically searched the train for a familiar face and spotted Chloe, a childhood friend.

He let out a sigh of relief and walked towards her, noticing that three people in another carriage were giving him a dirty look, as if he murdered a puppy.

He decided that they were probably staring at something else and started talking to Chloe.

"I'm so glad you're here, Adrikins," she crooned.

Okay, since when did Chloe decide that Adrien was comfortable with her calling him _that_?

Adrien looked behind him.

Yep, those three were still giving him the same evil glare of death.

Adrien swore they were trying to shoot lasers out of their eyeballs or something.

He shrugged and tried to pay attention to Chloe's conversation.

(With Sabrina? Adrien really didn't know who she was talking to at this point.)

All he heard was "blah blah makeup" and "blah blah peasants" and "blah blah Daddy issues" and "blah blah I'm perfect."

Sweet cinnamon rolls, she was boring.

Adrien sighed, waiting for the train ride to end.

He eventually fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Marinette was chatting endlessly with Nino and Alya about every topic, from Jagged Stone to cake to lamps.

Both Adrien and Marinette failed to notice something very important.

Maybe, if Adrien was a little less drowsy.

Maybe, if Marinette was a little more attentive.

They would've each noticed the slight bulge in their pockets.

They would've noticed the boxes.

They would've noticed the _Miraculouses_.

 **….…...**

 **And that concludes the first chapter of The Magic Between Us! It was fun to write about the headphone bit with Nino. And my poor cinnamon roll! Nino, Alya, and Marinette really hate him. Oh well, that'll be fixed soon. I actually had to look up the difference between macaroons and macarons. I loved writing about Tom and Sabine's family-ness towards Marinette. And OMG, did you see the Miraculous Christmas special? It was great! Though in this AU, Otis won't be Alya's dad. Remember, reviews always make my day! Stay tuned, OTPeople!**


	3. WhoNeeds Dementors When You Have Akumas?

**Yo, OTPeople, I'm back! And don't worry, MissfanFic0405, I won't abandon this fic until I finish it. This is sorta going to be the wizardified (yep, that's** ** _totally_** **a word) version of the Origin episodes, with a fun little take on the umbrella scene. In this AU, Ladybug doesn't screw up and purifies the akuma the first time. Throughout the entire fic, I'm gonna mention some of the villains just to give you a vague outline of what the timeline is like. EXCEPT! Here is the important part. I was having a whole lot of trouble with the Hogwarts magic vs technology thing (no one has a phone in this AU, just to keep the awesome magicky vibe) but the Ladyblog still exists, except it's a newspaper called** ** _The Ladybulletin_** **instead of a blog. I can't and won't write about technology-based villains like the Gamer, Rogercop, and Lady Wifi because I would have to change the whole villain in general. Here are villains that I will DEFINITELY write about though: Mr. Pigeon (going to be Mr. Owl in this fanfic), Timebreaker, Animan, Evillustrator, Copycat, Vanisher, Antibug, Volpina, Puppeteer, Stoneheart (duh), Dark Cupid, and Darkblade (going to be Darkwand in the fanfic). I hope I got everything cleared up. Here you go!**

 **…...…...…...…...…...…...….**

 ** _Chapter 2: Who Needs Dementors When You Have Akumas?_**

Gabriel fastened the butterfly brooch onto his immaculate white robes.

"Expecto Patronum," he calmly said, flicking his cold, black, ebony wand.

A silvery, butterfly-like creature that emitted a faint purple glow emerged from the brooch.

Gabriel had seen this creature before; for this was Nooroo, an enchanted Patronus, better known as his late wife's kwami.

An expression of pure terror washed over Nooroo's face as he realised what Gabriel had in mind for the poor little kwami.

"Gabriel, how many times do Duusu and I have to explain? You can't bring her back. She's dead now. You have to accept it. Avery is-"

"Do. Not. Say. Her. Name," Gabriel ordered him, his voice icy enough to freeze an entire ocean on a hot summer's day.

"Why did you just lock Duusu away?" Nooroo asked him. "You were chosen for each other. Only he has the ability to make you see things the right way again."

"Have you forgotten your past, Nooroo?" Gabriel menacingly replied. "I looked in the Guardian's Book. As I recall, the Butterfly Miraculous has been used for evil more than once before. Obviously, _you're_ the most diabolically experienced of all the kwamis."

"It's not my fault," Nooroo cried, pale, ghostly tears cascading from his silvery-lavender face.

"Remind me of the powers a Miraculous user is granted when the Miraculous in question is being used for evil," Gabriel said.

Gabriel was Nooroo's master now, and he had no choice but to tell him.

"You shall be granted a spell more powerful than the Three Curses. It is called the Akuma Kedavra, and you can use it to control, hurt, and/or give superpowers to a wizard."

"I like the sound of that. Nooroo, darkwings rise!" Gabriel said, his white robes transforming into dark gray robes with a dark purple lining.

He had a metallic mask and his ebony wand grew larger until it resembled a cane.

"From now on, I am Hawkmoth. I shall create villains to get the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses. I need them to resurrect Avery Lionne," he confidently stated his goals to himself.

He let out a perfect evil laugh.

"Do you hear me, world? I will bring her back!" Hawkmoth shouted at nobody in particular.

 **…...…...…...…...….**

Gasps of awe filled the Hogwarts Express as they arrived at the station near Hogwarts.

The school was visible in the distance, beckoning the young wizards to go to it.

"It's so beautiful!" a girl named Rose happily sighed.

"It truly is," the girl next to her, Juleka, agreed.

"Wow! They sent me pictures of Hogwarts, but this is majestic!" Alya exclaimed, astounded by Hogwarts. "It looks like a fairy-tale castle!"

Marinette looked up from her sketchbook.

So _this_ was going to be the place she called home for the next four years.

"It's….. _spectacular_!" Marinette breathlessly gasped.

Nobody disagreed, not even Chloe.

"Alright, everyone! Get in the Thestral-drawn carriages!" Otis shouted.

Marinette, Nino, and Alya boarded one of the carriages.

"Can either of you see the Thestrals? I can't. Can Muggle-born people not see them?" Alya frowned.

"Ummm…..you see, the only people who can see Thestrals are ones that have seen…..….death," Marinette hesitantly explained.

"Oh," Alya said, her eyes wide. "Do you see them?"

"No," Marinette and Nino simultaneously denied.

"I don't think that there's anyone here that can actually see the Thestrals," Marinette theorized.

But she was wrong.

Very, _very_ wrong.

Because Adrien Agreste could see the Thestrals as clear as day.

They were scary, gigantic, black skeletal horse-like creatures with wings, making terrible noises that could frighten the bravest of heroes.

He looked straight at the Thestral's face, his emerald eyes glaring at its soulless white ones.

"I'm not afraid of you," Adrien said.

"Adrien, dear, get into the carriage," Chloe urged him.

"Do you want to see my wand?" Chloe asked, showing him before he could even answer. "It's 10 ¼ inches, birch, and veela hair. What about yours?"

"11 inches, pine, phoenix feather," Adrien responded.

"Alright, everyone, into the carriages!" Otis shouted, shoving Chloe and Adrien into different carriages.

Adrien looked at who he was going to be sitting with for the length of the ride.

It was the people who were glaring at him on the Hogwarts Express.

 _Wonderful_.

Twenty-five minutes and ten seconds.

That's how long it took for the ride to end.

Adrien counted.

Twenty-five minutes and ten seconds of awkward silence.

Twenty-five minutes and ten seconds of staring at the horrifying Thestrals.

Adrien had never been more glad to get off of a carriage.

 **…...…..**

All of the Hogwarts first-years were hanging out in "The Lounge," better known as the Room of Requirement on the first day of school.

The Lounge was pretty much where the first-years just sat and chatted until it was time to be sorted.

It was a very large room, with a lot of comfy couches and chairs, bookshelves, tables, and four banners, each bearing the symbol of either Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin.

"We arrived early this year, so that means-" Marinette mentally counted the hours in her head. "Six hours until the Sorting Hat is plopped onto our heads."

"So that means six hours of just chilling out and talking," Nino added.

"How does this whole sorting thing work out again?" Alya asked.

"For starters, don't be creeped out when Headmaster Fu puts a talking, mind-reading hat on your head," Nino said.

"That sounds rather…... _interesting_ ," Alya commented, her left eyebrow raised.

"It's called the Sorting Hat. It's going to put you in one of four houses. Gryffindor" -Marinette pointed to the red banner with a golden lion in the center- "is for people who are heroic and brave. That's where the Famous Three started out."

"Famous Three?" Alya asked.

"Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. They're the ones who stopped Lord Voldemort from taking over the entire Wizarding World," Nino explained.

"Oh. That evil hideous pale noseless bald dude?" Alya guessed.

It took a lot of willpower for Marinette to not laugh at the most sinister person in the universe being described in that manner.

"Anyway, Hufflepuff" -Marinette pointed to the yellow banner with a black badger in the center- "is for people who are loyal to their friends."

"Well, now I know for sure which house Chloe's _definitely_ not going to be sorted into," Alya snorted.

"Ravenclaw is pretty the house for smart and intelligent people," Nino said as he pointed to the blue banner with a bronze eagle in the middle. "I never quite understood why their symbol is an eagle when they call themselves Ravenclaw."

"And last, but definitely least, is Slytherin," Marinette said, pointing to the last banner, a green one with a silver snake. "The Sorting Hat says that Slytherin is for cunning and ambitious people. But really, nearly all of the most infamous magical villains came from Slytherin. Most of them are really mean, but there are a few decent ones."

"Got it. So there's the heroic house, the evil house, the nerd house, and the 'you got a B+ on your test, but here's a golden star anyway because we care about you' house," Alya confirmed.

Nino and Marinette cracked up.

"It's funny how it's only now that I'm realizing how stereotypical all of the houses are," Nino laughed.

"KIM!" a boy suddenly yelled. "I'm so gonna get-"

"Ivan! Go to the Headmaster's office!" Professor Bustier, the head of Gryffindor, scolded him.

Ivan grumbled something and followed Professor Bustier's demands.

 **…...**

"How convenient. Time for my first akumatized villain to appear!" Hawkmoth evilly laughed from Hogwarts' attic.

A white butterfly landed in his hands.

The Butterfly Miraculous attracted butterflies; he was going to have to remember that.

Hawkmoth pointed his wand at the butterfly.

"Akuma Kedavra!" he yelled.

Dark magic encased the butterfly, turning it a violent shade of black and purple, like a bruise.

"Now, akumatize this troubled wizard!" Hawkmoth commanded.

The akuma flew through a hole in the window.

" _Perfect_ ," Hawkmoth grinned.

 **…...**

The akuma fluttered throughout the halls of Hogwarts, searching for its victim.

It soon found its target and landed on a crumpled ball of paper in the boy's hand.

"I am Hawkmoth. Stoneheart, you can get revenge on Kim and win Mylene's heart with the powers I shall give you, but I need one thing in return: the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses," Hawkmoth commanded Ivan.

"Sure thing, Hawkmoth," Ivan agreed.

Dark magic corroded the boy, leaving behind a gigantic Mountain Troll- but made completely out of stone.

Headmaster Fu walked out of his office, but immediately rushed back in closed the door again upon seeing Stoneheart.

A silvery turtle-like Patronus with a light green aura appeared from under a desk.

"Gabriel has started his reign of terror. Do you think that the students you chose have found the Miraculouses yet?" Wayzz asked his master.

"I have a feeling that they will, soon enough," Headmaster Fu reassured Wayzz. "First it was the _fourth_ Basilisk within thirty years, then the Imp riot, then the Tebo stampede, which took forever to stop because they're invisible. Then there was not one but _three_ Chimaeras that got loose in the school last year. Now an evil Miraculous user is using demon butterflies to turn the students into wizard supervillains. Oh dear, Hogwarts _really_ needs a bigger security budget."

 **…...**

Marinette walked back from the bathroom, accidentally tripping on the way to The Lounge.

A small wooden box flew out of her pocket.

Since when was that there?

She picked it up and opened it.

A flash of red light appeared, and Marinette felt the sudden urge to cast a Patronus Charm to protect herself.

She whipped out her wand and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"

A small, silvery creature appeared.

And it _certainly_ did not look like a Patronus.

It large bluish eyes, two antennae, and a faded black spot on its head.

It had a small body with four….flippers? Was that the correct word? It also had a strange little tail- no, it was three tails.

Most importantly, it was unnaturally glowing red.

"What are you?" Marinette asked.

"I'm an enchanted Patronus. My name's Tikki. You see that box?" the Patronus said in a sweet voice, like that of a child's.

"You can _talk_?!" Marinette shrieked.

"Shhhhh, not so loud!" Tikki scolded her. "I'm not an ordinary Patronus. I'm a kwami. Please put on the earrings in the box. It takes a lot of magic for me to be here when you don't have the earrings on."

Marinette followed Tikki's instructions and put on the two red earrings, each bearing five black dots.

As soon as they touched her ears, the earrings turned completely black.

"That's much better," Tikki said.

Marinette noticed that Tikki seemed to be less faded now.

"So why do I have a special Patronus? I mean, my friend Alya would be a much better person to be trusted with a kwami and-" Marinette rambled.

"Marinette, you are the Chosen One for a reason. This may seem sort of crazy, but I can grant you unimaginable power. Those earrings the Ladybug Miraculous. When you have a Miraculous on, instead of a normal Patronus, an enchanted Patronus called a kwami appears. There's a new threat in Hogwarts. Another Miraculous wielder, a man named Hawkmoth, is using his powers for evil. He sends out dark butterflies, also known as akumas. These akumas turn people with negative emotions into supervillains. You need to break the akumatized object to free the akuma. Speaking of which, your wand will be turned into a yo-yo. You can use it to purify the akuma. That's the most important part. With this yo-yo you can also use an important spell called Lucky Charm. It summons any object you need to defeat the villain, but using it means that you only have five minutes before you detransform again. After you purify the akuma, throw your Lucky Charm item into the air and yell 'Miraculous Ladybug!' That will reverse any damage that the akumatized villain has caused. You also have a partner who has the Black Cat Miraculous," Tikki explained.

"Fight the akumatized villain with my partner, use Lucky Charm, break the akumatized object, purify the akuma, say 'Miraculous Ladybug,' and then detransform. Okay. Anything else?" Marinette asked.

"To transform again, I need energy. I get energy from cookies! Chocolate chip's my favorite. And to transform, you just need to say my name, then 'spots on.' Got it?" Tikki said. "You should probably transform now."

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette yelled.

Tikki was sucked into the earrings.

A wave of pink and red sparkles enveloped Marinette.

She ran back to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.

Her robes were black, with very wide red trimming that was covered in black dots, like a ladybug.

They were tied together with a single black button on her waist.

She wore a white ruffled blouse underneath and black spandex leggings.

She tight red boots underneath, spotted with black.

The were the same material as her leggings, but a little bit thicker.

Red ribbons had been added to her dark blue pigtails.

She looked down and saw that her wand had turned into a red yo-yo with five black spots, much like her earrings.

She wore red fingerless Quidditch gloves with a black spot on the back of each hand.

A red eye-mask with five black spots finished the costume.

"Wow," was all Marinette could say.

 **…...**

Adrien walked back into Hogwarts.

He didn't realize how much he needed that fresh air.

On the way in, a box fell out of his pocket.

He picked the box up.

"What's this?" Adrien asked himself.

He opened the box and a flash of green light blinded him.

He cast a Patronus Charm to protect himself, and a silvery cat appeared.

Well, it wasn't actually a _cat_ , per say, but more of a cat-like creature.

It had a large head with a long black hair on its head and two long black whiskers on either side of its head.

It had squinting, completely green eyes.

Its body had a long tail and two crossed arms, with two tiny legs.

It had a strange black glow.

Now, Adrien had spent endless hours reading about Patronuses, and he was as sure as God himself that this wasn't a normal one.

"Put the ring on and give me cheese," the creature deadpanned.

"Excuse me?" Adrien asked.

The creature rolled its eyes. "It's in the box."

Adrien looked inside the box, and sure enough, there was a black ring with a green paw print in the middle.

He slipped the ring on, and it immediately turned silver.

"Give me camembert," the creature commanded, now less faded than before.

"Sorry, I don't have any. I'll get you some later. So what's your name? Are you kinda like the genie in the lamp?" Adrien asked.

"Call me Plagg," the creature said. "I'm a kwami, an enchanted Patronus. That ring you're wearing turns your normal Patronus into me. It's the Black Cat Miraculous, and when I'm sucked into it, I use my 'god of total destruction' powers to give you Cataclysm, which can destroy anything you touch. You also have a partner, the owner of the Ladybug Miraculous."

"So, what do I have to do to get these powers?" Adrien questioned.

"Well, you just have to say my name, then say 'claws out.' Got it?" Plagg said.

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien yelled.

"But I'm not done explaaaaaaaaiiiiiiii-" Plagg protested as he was sucked into the ring.

A wave of green electricity rushed over Adrien.

He looked down at himself.

His robes were black, with narrow, neon green trimming.

He wore a black shirt with a neon green paw print in the middle.

He had black pants and shin-high black leather boots.

Even though his robes were open, he wore a black belt around his waist that loosened into a long tail at the end.

He wore leather gloves that sharpened into dangerous metal claws at the fingertips.

He looked at his gloved hands, only to see that his wand had grew into a large metal stick for combat.

He took out the mirror that his father had given him for 'modelling purposes only' out of his pocket and examined his face.

His messy, golden locks seemed to be even messier.

He wore leathery black cat ears on his head, and his eyes were completely green with slitted pupils.

Around them was a black eye-mask with a slight tip at the nose.

"I. Look. Awesome," Adrien said.

And he was 100% correct.

 **…...**

Marinette walked out of the bathroom.

She looked at her yo-yo, then looked down at the floors below.

It was almost like a mall, because most of the floors were just wide perimeters and railings with two perpendicular walkways across the center.

"Let's try this thing out," she said to herself.

She threw the yo-yo at a pillar three floors above.

The yo-yo wrapped itself around the pillar, and launched Marinette up into the air.

She somersaulted and the yo-yo unwrapped itself.

Marinette plummeted downwards, to what she thought was certain death.

She crashed into a boy her age who was dressed like a cat and attempting to walk across a metal pole that he had stationed across a floor.

Her yo-yo saved them from crashing to the ground and tied them together, upside-down.

"I'm sorry for that," Marinette apologized.

"It's fine," the boy reassured her.

"I guess this is our first time experimenting with superpowers, huh?" Ladybug shrugged.

"It sure is. Hey, you're the partner that my kwami told me about, aren't you? I'm…." the boy hesitated. "I'm…..Cat Noir. Yeah, Cat Noir. What about you?"

"I'm Ma-" Marinette began. She tugged on the yo-yo and released them from the wires, accidentally hitting Cat Noir in the process.

"Madly clumsy," she sighed.

"No sweat," Cat Noir said.

The floor shook.

"What was that?" Cat Noir asked.

"That must be the akumatized villain," Marinette guessed.

"The _what now_? Sorry, I got a little excited and transformed before my kwami fully explained all the details of being a superhero," Cat Noir blushed.

"My kwami told me that a Miraculous is being used for evil. He's named Hawkmoth. He sends out dark butterflies called akumas to turn people with negative feelings into villains. We just have to fight the villain, use our powers, and break the akumatized item. Then I have to purify the akuma, and use my Miraculous Ladybug repairing spell to clean up all of the damage the akumatized villain made," Marinette explained.

The floor shook again.

"Uh oh. Whoever this akumatized villain is, he's _huge_ ," Marinette said.

Cat Noir looked outside a window. "You're right. He's a gigantic Mountain Troll made of stone. He has a girl in his hand. He must be in love with her, considering that he's not pummeling her. He's heading towards the Quidditch pitch."

"You know what the great part about my repairing spell is?" Marinette asked her partner.

"What?" Cat Noir asked.

"We can do stuff like _this_ and everything is fixed later," Marinette responded, and broke the window with her yo-yo.

She swung over to the Quidditch pitch, Cat Noir pole-vaulting close behind her.

Nearly everyone was in the Quidditch pitch, demanding that the akumatized villain, Stoneheart, drop the girl who we was holding, who was named Mylene.

"Mylene will be mine forever!" Stoneheart shouted in a gravelly voice.

Everyone was huddled in the stands, terrified of the akumatized villain.

Well, everyone except for one person.

And, just by Marinette's luck, the one person who had dared get close to Stoneheart was none other than Alya, one of her only friends.

She had a camera and was rapidly taking pictures of Stoneheart.

Cat Noir leapt into action (literally) and saved Alya from an incoming part of the stands that Stoneheart had thrown at her.

He whacked Stoneheart with his metal stick, but it only caused the villain to become even bigger.

"How about some help, partner?" Cat Noir yelled.

"The world is counting on you, super red bug!" Alya shouted.

"Let's kick his rocky behind," Marinette said, joining in on the fight.

"So awesome!" Alya cheered.

After five more minutes of useless fighting, Cat Noir and Marinette retreated to one side of the Quidditch pitch.

"This isn't working. We need to use our powers," Marinette told her partner.

"I'll use mine. According to my kwami, I can destroy anything I touch," he said.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir yelled.

He touched a stray Quaffle, and it crumbled into ashes.

"Wait, don't-" Marinette winced.

Cat Noir ran towards Stoneheart and touched his foot.

His emerald-green eyes widened.

"So I guess it's a one-time thing, huh?" Cat Noir muttered weakly.

Stoneheart punted him towards Marinette.

He landed on the grass with a satisfying thump.

" _Meow_ ch," he groaned.

"You shouldn't have done that! You have only five minutes before you detransform," Marinette scolded him.

"Lucky Charm!" she yelled.

A red, black-spotted suit materialized out of thin air.

With her Lucky Vision, Marinette saw Alya, the suit, and a long rubber tube.

Marinette attached the suit to the tube and threw it at Stoneheart.

He caught it.

"Hey Alya, fill the tube with water!" Marinette commanded her best friend.

"Sure thing!" Alya grinned, happy to help.

She took out her wand.

"Aqua Eructo!" Alya yelled.

A stream of water flew through the tube and into the suit.

Stoneheart released the rock in his hand.

Marinette broke it and an akuma flew out.

Suddenly, the akuma turned into a large image of Hawkmoth's face, which was made out of many, many akumas.

"Wizards of Hogwarts, my name is Hawkmoth. I only want the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses. Give them to me, and everyone will be saved!" Hawkmoth announced.

"Nice try, Hawkmoth," Ladybug said. "Let's not reverse the roles here. _You're_ the one turning people into supervillains. One day, even if it takes ten years, we're going to find you and make _you_ hand over _your_ Miraculous!"

"Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug shouted, purifying all of the akumas.

"No matter who that girl is under the mask, I love her," Cat Noir breathlessly stated, his last sentence now a fact of life.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Marinette shouted, thousands of tiny ladybugs flying around and repairing things everywhere they went.

"It's truly…..miraculous," Cat Noir gasped.

She walked over to Ivan and Mylene and helped them up.

Marinette unfolded the crumpled ball of paper and read it.

 _Mylene could never fall in love with an ugly half-giant like you!_

Mylene snatched it from Marinette's hands.

"Ivan, that's a lie. I'll always love you, whether you're Muggle or wizard, human or half-giant, akumatized or not," Mylene said, and hugged Ivan.

A blush spread on Ivan's cheeks before he hugged her back.

"Gotta go before we change back," Marinette suggested to Cat Noir.

"Wait! At least tell me your names!" Alya interrupted.

"I'm Cat Noir," Marinette's partner purred.

"You can call me Ladybug," Marinette said.

Ladybug swung away with her yo-yo.

"So her name is Ladybug," Cat Noir dreamily sighed.

He ran away from the crowd and detransformed.

It was official: Cat Noir loved Ladybug, yang loved yin, the sun loved the moon.

Another perfect balance in the world had just been created.

 **…...**

" _The Ladybulletin!_ Hot off the press!" Alya showed Nino and Marinette.

"You have an entire newspaper dedicated to Ladybug already?" Nino asked, his jaw crashing through the ground and reaching the center of the earth.

"Yup! It's already become more popular than _The Hogwarts Weekly_!" Alya replied.

Marinette glanced at the clock. "Ten more minutes until we get sorted!"

"Can we check out the banquet hall?" Alya asked.

"Race you there!" Nino said, and sped off towards the room.

Alya and Marinette simply walked there.

Which meant that Nino arrived first.

"Chloe, that's mean and rude," he heard a voice say.

He peered in.

It was Chloe's boyfriend from earlier.

"So what? Those Gryffindor brats are going to get what they deserve," Chloe said.

She stuck a third piece of gum on the seats for the Gryffindor table.

Adrien tried to poke it off, which was just when Marinette and Alya walked in.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Think you're being clever, aren't you?" Marinette deadpanned and scraped the gum off of the bench.

Adrien only sighed, and Chloe had an exceptionally smug look on her face.

The rest of the student wizards filed into the banquet hall.

Nino walked over to Adrien. "Dude, why'd you stick up for Chloe like that? I know she's your girlfriend but-"

"Chloe is not my girlfriend," Adrien denied. "Besides, she's the only friend that I've ever had."

"Then I guess it's time for you to make some new ones," Nino grinned.

The Sorting Hat was presented and did its usual riddling routine before it was time for the first-years to be sorted.

Adrien Agreste was alphabetically first.

The Sorting Hat was placed on his head.

 _You've never had many friends before, so I don't know if you're loyal to them,_ the Sorting Hat thought. _So not Hufflepuff._

 _You're very smart, but learning has been forced onto you, so not Ravenclaw._

 _That leaves Gryffindor or Slytherin._

 _Gryffindor._

 _Or Slytherin._

The Sorting Hat paused for a second.

 _Aha! I see your past. It's been very cold, Adrien. Your heart is one that wants to run away from its troubles, not conquer them. So-_

"SLYTHERIN!" the Sorting Hat announced.

The Slytherin table cheered.

A Ravenclaw and two Hufflepuffs later, it was Chloe's turn and the Sorting Hat had only touched a single hair on her head before it immediately yelped and shrieked that she was a 'horrible, slimy, Slytherin.'

The Sorting Hat had a hard time choosing between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for Alya, but it eventually declared that she was a Ravenclaw.

The Sorting Hat was placed upon Marinette Dupain-Cheng's head.

 _You love your friends, but you have much more important qualities. Hufflepuff is out of the question. You're smart and witty, but Ravenclaw is not the one for you. Your past is very warm and cuddly, compared to that other boy. His past is a frozen glacier. Brrrrrr!_

"What other boy?" Marinette murmured.

 _You know him as Cat Noir. You are very brave, and have great potential. You just need to believe in yourself. You are-_

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat proclaimed.

Nino was sorted into Hufflepuff soon afterwards.

After everyone else was sorted, the feast began. The floating candles danced above their heads. Everyone pigged out, and Marinette and Adrien snuck some chocolate chip cookies and camembert cheese for their kwamis when nobody was looking.

After the feast was over, everyone shuffled to their dorms to unpack, and Marinette looked longingly outside.

It was raining like mad.

And she had left her sketchbook under a tree.

 _Great_.

"Hey," a voice said beside her.

Marinette looked at who the owner of the voice was, but soon turned away.

Adrien Agreste, the Slytherin boy who was friends with the most evil girl in the entire Wizarding World.

He opened up a black umbrella.

"I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off of the Gryffindor bench. I swear. I've never known many kids my age before. I've never had friends. It's all sort of…...…..new to me," Adrien admitted.

He held out his umbrella towards her.

Thunder boomed in that distance.

That was the only important sound that existed, because that thunder ignited a spark.

A spark between two people, a spark felt from the passing of an umbrella.

Marinette took the umbrella, but it immediately closed on her.

Adrien laughed.

Not the mean and haughty laugh of most rich kids, but the sincere, heartfelt laugh of a friend that makes everyone smile.

"See you tomorrow," Adrien said, and walked back inside.

"See you to- torom- uhhh, tomorrow," Marinette replied, absolutely awestruck. "Wow, why am I stuttering?"

"I think I have an idea why," Tikki giggled.

"My, my! The first day of school and you already have a girlfriend!" Plagg teased.

"She's not my girlfriend, Plagg," Adrien blushed. "She's just a friend. Oh! A friend!"

Marinette hurriedly retrieved her sketchbook.

It was right then and there that she decided maybe, just maybe, not all Slytherins were so bad.

Because Adrien Agreste had turned out to be her friend.

And maybe something more.

 **…...**

 **Phew! That was the longest chapter I've ever written for any fanfic. Too tired to write more. Goodbye for now, OTPeople!**


	4. Charms, Villains and Other Normal Things

**I'm back, OTPeople! And now I'm realizing that….I probably should've started this fic in September. So just don't be weirded out if I write a winter chapter in the beginning of spring or something. Chapter 3 is here! By the way, I came up with a cool backstory for Lila, but she won't be introduced until I write a couple more chapters. Two akumatized villains for Chapter 3 seems suitable, don't you think? Anyway, the akumatized villains in this fanfic will be sort of out of order, so I hope you don't mind. It** ** _is_** **an AU, after all. Believe it or not, this chapter is even longer than the last one!**

 **…..…..…..…..…..…..…...**

 _ **Chapter 3: Charms, Villains, and Other Normal Things**_

Marinette closed the umbrella and carried it to the Gryffindor Tower.

That meant walking through five endless hallways and climbing three endless staircases.

Forget being a superhero; going to her dorm alone was already giving her an extreme workout.

As she trudged up the final staircase, she heard a girl's voice yelling at a painting.

"Come on, just let me in!" the girl furiously screamed.

She was even smaller than Marinette and had short pink hair, one side tied up and the other loose.

"Sorry, dearie, but you need the password," the woman in the painting deviously smirked.

The Fat Lady had been moved five years ago, so a portrait of King Arthur had replaced her, although there was someone else on his throne today.

She wore a dark purple cloak over her black robes.

Her wavy crow-colored hair came down to her waist and she was currently using her ashwood wand as a nail file while she sat on a golden throne sideways, her legs dangling over the left armrest and her back leaning against the right armrest.

"Call me 'dearie' one more time, Morgan le Fay. One. More. Time. I dare you," the girl scowled. "What are you even doing here? You're supposed to be watching the Ravenclaw dorm!"

"Look, _dearie_ , I have to babysit you whiny Gryffindors while my half-brother Arthur is visiting his buddy Merlin down in the Slytherin dorms," Morgan le Fay sighed. "Now, the password, please."

"For the last time, I don't _have_ the password, paint-face!" the girl yelled.

"Sorry, no password, no entry," Morgan le Fay lazily grinned.

Marinette walked up to Morgan.

"I have the password," she bravely declared.

"Then what is it? I don't have all night, you know," the famous enchantress in the painting said, rolling her oil-pastel eyes.

"Mincemeat pie," Marinette announced.

"Fine," Morgana le Fay muttered under her breath.

She snapped her fingers and the portrait swung forward, revealing a doorway that led into the Gryffindor Common Room.

Marinette and the girl stepped inside, and the portrait slammed shut behind them.

"Thanks for that. If it wasn't for you, I would've been stuck outside all night," the girl said.

The common room was empty.

They tiptoed into the girls' dorm room.

"Looks like we're bunkmates," the girl whispered.

"We'll just have to unpack in the morning," Marinette sighed as she laid the umbrella against the wall. "By the way, what's your name? I'm Marinette."

"My name's Alix," the girl introduced herself as she climbed into the top bunk. "Nice to meet you, Marinette."

"Goodnight, Alix," Marinette said as she snuggled underneath the covers.

Both girls promptly fell asleep.

 **…...**

Marinette yawned and blinked a couple of times.

She mentally made a list of yesterday's events.

She arrived at Hogwarts _and_ became a superhero- all in one day.

Wow.

Marinette rubbed her eyes and looked at the Gryffindor robes on her bed.

She was the fifth one awake, and Alix was among the four girls who had already changed.

Alix also had the same enchanted music gear as Nino, except for the fact that she had green earbuds instead of orange headphones.

The music was extremely quiet, and you could only hear that she was listening to Rock N Roll by Avril Lavigne if you bothered to listen.

Marinette quickly changed into the Gryffindor robes, and Tikki flew into one of the pockets.

They fit her perfectly.

She unpacked her things, which consisted of a pink toothbrush, toothpaste, lots of pairs of pajamas, books for her classes, her broomstick and lots of pictures of her mom and dad.

Marinette decided to draw some new designs in her sketchbook until everyone else woke up.

She decided to count heads; including herself, there were fifty-three Gryffindor girls.

And out of the fifty-three other girls, there were fourteen first-years.

Well, at least she knew one of them, and that was Alix.

Marinette shut her sketchbook.

She strolled to the banquet hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table, right next to Alix and across from another first-year, a boy with tomato-red hair.

Soon, the owls were released.

And all hell broke loose.

Most of the owls were recently bought and had never delivered a letter before.

Which could only mean one thing: there was only chaos, chaos, and more chaos.

The owls crashed into each other and feathers flew all around the banquet hall, much to the dismay of Chloe Bourgeois.

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Chloe screamed, trying to shake the feathers out of her hair like she was headbanging at an ACDC concert.

Every owl was carrying some sort of 'We miss you, sweetheart' letter from the recipient's parents and a schedule.

It took about four minutes until everyone received their letters.

"Thank you, Sugar," Marinette smiled and hand-fed her owl some breadcrumbs.

Marinette opened the first envelope.

 _Dear Marinette,_

 _We miss you so much! I hope that you'll love Hogwarts as much as we did. So, which house did you get sorted into? Did you make any friends yet? Any enemies? Please write back!_

 _Love,_

 _Mom and Dad_

Just as Marinette expected.

She gave Sugar a letter that she had written that morning.

 _Dear Mom and Dad,_

 _Hogwarts is absolutely beautiful! I was sorted into Gryffindor. I have a few friends already: Alya, a Ravenclaw; Nino, a Hufflepuff; Alix, a Gryffindor; and Adrien, a Slytherin. Even though he's a Slytherin, Adrien is actually very nice, unlike Chloe, who's another Slytherin. Remember Chloe, the Minister of Magic's daughter? Anyway, don't worry about me. I'll be fine!_

 _XOXO,_

 _Marinette_

Sugar took the letter in her talons and flew away.

Marinette opened the second envelope, her schedule for today.

 _Marinette Dupain-Cheng's Tuesday Schedule_

 _Breakfast- 8:00 am to 9:30 am_

 _Break- 9:30 am to 9:45 am_

 _Charms (taught by Professor Bustier, Head of Gryffindor)- 9:45 am to 10:45 am_

 _Break- 10:45 am to 11:00 am_

 _Potions (taught by Professor Mendeleiev, Head of Slytherin)- 11:00 am to 12:00 pm_

 _Lunch- 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm_

 _Break- 1:00 pm to 1:15 pm_

 _Transfiguration (taught by Professor Damocles)- 1:15 pm to 2:15 pm_

 _Break- 2:15 pm to 2:30 pm_

 _Herbology (taught by Professor Whipwind)- 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm_

 _Break- 3:30 pm to 3:45 pm_

 _Flying (taught by Professor D'Argencourt)- 3:45 pm to 4:15 pm_

 _Break- 4:15 pm to 6:30 pm_

 _Dinner- 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm_

 _ALL STUDENTS MUST BE IN DORMS BY 8:15 PM._

 _You are one of the students among First-Year Class No. 2:_

 _Agreste, Adrien- Slytherin_

 _Bourgeois, Chloe- Slytherin_

 _Bruel, Ivan- Hufflepuff_

 _Cesaire, Alya- Ravenclaw_

 _Couffaine, Juleka- Ravenclaw_

 _Dupain-Cheng, Marinette- Gryffindor_

 _Haprele, Mylene- Hufflepuff_

 _Kante, Max- Ravenclaw_

 _Kim, Le Chien- Slytherin_

 _Kubdel, Alix- Gryffindor_

 _Kurtzberg, Nathaniel- Gryffindor_

 _Lahiffe, Nino- Hufflepuff_

 _Lavillant, Rose- Hufflepuff_

 _Raincomprix, Sabrina- Ravenclaw_

Marinette checked the floating, rotating clock that hovered around the banquet hall.

9:14 am.

That meant she had thirty-one minutes until her first class.

She finished her eggs and toast and headed back to the Gryffindor tower.

"You better get ready for Charms and Potions. And I read that you have Flying in the afternoon! What are you going to tryout for?" Tikki asked her, leaving a faint silvery trail everywhere she flew.

"Chaser or Seeker," Marinette decided, and stuffed her wand, her books, some scrolls, and an extra quill into her backpack.

She was definitely ready for whatever came her way, whether it be an akumatized villain, a loose Boggart, or a pop quiz.

 **…...**

Xavier Ramier and Professor Mendeleiev were the only ones walking through the hallways during breakfast.

"That was _madness!"_ Professor Mendeleiev screeched.

"You know it's the first day. My owls were just a little excited, that's all," Mr. Ramier reassured her.

"A little? That was _chaos!_ If this is how you're going to handle your job as 'Keeper of Owls' then you should be fired!" Professor Mendeleiev yelled.

"F-Fired?" Mr. Ramier gulped.

"Yes, fired! I'm reporting you to Headmaster Fu!" the infuriated professor shouted and stormed off towards the Headmaster's office.

"But my owls," Mr. Ramier sighed and walked away.

 **…..…...…...…...**

Meanwhile, Gabriel Agreste had sensed the negative emotions in the air.

He Apparated to The Room of Butterflies (that's what he called it) and transformed into Hawkmoth.

"Hmmm, a potential job loss for the Keeper of Owls? How frustrating for him. But not at all for me!" Hawkmoth evilly cackled.

He pointed his cane-like wand (it was more of a staff now) at a white butterfly.

"Akuma Kedavra!" Hawkmoth yelled.

The akuma flew out of the window, searching for Mr. Ramier.

It soon found him and landed on his owl-shaped bird call.

"You are now Mr. Owl. You can help the owls take over Hogwarts, but I need Cat NOir and Ladybug's Miraculouses in return. Do we have a deal?" Hawkmoth asked, but it was more of a demand than a question.

"Deal," Mr. Ramier grinned.

Dark magic corroded the Keeper of Owls.

His normally black robes were now made entirely of gray owl feathers.

"Fly, my owls, fly!" Mr. Owl shouted in delight.

 **…...…...…...**

Adrien walked through the halls to Charms.

He hoped that today would be normal.

Well, as normal as it could be in a school for wizards.

He heard a faint noise behind him.

"What was that?" Adrien asked his kwami.

"Beats me," Plagg shrugged, his mouth full of camembert.

The sound grew louder.

Wait, were those…..screeches?

Owl screeches?

The noises, whatever they came from, were louder than Adrien could handle.

He turned around, only to see owls.

Hundreds.

Of.

Owls.

Every owl in Hogwarts.

"AHHHH!" Adrien shouted, and dropped to the floor, avoiding the swarm of owls that passed over him.

Adrien sneezed.

"Feathers. Of course. The one thing I'm allergic to," he sighed.

"Must be an akumatized villain," Plagg guessed.

"You think?" Adrien sarcastically asked. "Plagg, claws out!"

"But I want more cheeeeeeeeeeeeeese!" Plagg whined as he was sucked into the ring.

Cat Noir dashed after the owls.

Time to kick some serious akuma.

 **…...…...…...**

When Marinette said that she was _ready_ if an akumatized villain suddenly attacked Hogwarts, she didn't necessarily mean that she wanted that to actually _happen_.

But sure enough, as soon as she walked into the next hallway, she saw Cat Noir chasing after a massive tornado of owls.

Just her luck.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette shouted.

Ladybug followed her partner.

"Any sign of the akumatized villain?" Ladybug asked, once she caught up with him.

"Not yet. But I never _purr_ dicted that Hawkmoth would send out anoth _fur_ akuma today. This is _hiss_ terical!" Cat Noir grinned.

"Cat puns?" Ladybug groaned.

"Get ready, be _claws_ I'm ne _fur_ going to put a _paws_ on my puns," Cat Noir replied.

Soon the owls halted to a stop.

Ladybug and Cat Noir viewed the scene in front of them.

"So what exactly _is_ your goal, Mr. Owl?" a familiar voice asked.

Alya was trying to interview an akumatized villain.

 _Great_.

"I want to give Hogwarts back to the owls!" Mr. Owl announced.

Alya tried not to laugh.

"Hawkmoth has really downgraded, huh?" Cat Noir commented and sneezed. "By the way, I'm allergic to feathers."

Alya couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. "You want to- want to- let the owls take over? That's hilarious, oh man, I can't breathe…."

"How dare you disrespect my beloved owls!" Mr. Owl yelled.

"Sorry sir, but I'm a _fur_ aid we have to stop your Am _owl_ ican Revolution," Cat Noir said.

"You! Give me your Miraculouses!" Mr. Owl demanded.

"You have to _cat_ ch us first!" Cat Noir yelled and ran away.

" _Excellent_ plan," Ladybug said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Sorry about- ah- ah- achoo!" Cat Noir sneezed.

"Wait, he stopped chasing us," Ladybug noticed.

"I guess we'll have to look for him," her partner shrugged.

After seven minutes of searching, they discovered him on the roof of the North Tower.

"Seems suspicious," Ladybug said.

Owls lined the perimeter of the roof.

Suddenly, a cage dropped over Ladybug and Cat Noir.

"Now you're caged, just like my precious owls!" Mr. Owl taunted.

"No _purr_ oblem for this cat," Cat Noir grinned. "Cataclysm!"

He swiped his clawed hand across the bars.

The bars rusted and the cage crumbled to pieces.

"Dang it!" Mr. Owl yelled, and backflipped off of the roof and onto a cloud of owls.

"I guess we'll have to follow him again," Ladybug shrugged.

They yo-yoed and pole-vaulted towards the abandoned South Tower.

Ladybug spotted an open window.

"We'll ambush him on three," she whispered. "One, two-"

Cat Noir sneezed.

"You again!" Mr. Owl screeched.

"There goes our ambush," Ladybug sighed.

They dropped through the window.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted.

A Galleon with a red, black-spotted lining dropped into her hands.

"What am I going to do with this?" Ladybug asked herself.

"Figure it out quickly! I'm going to change back soon," Cat Noir told her as he attempted to trip Mr. Owl with his stick.

She looked around.

Aha! A vending machine.

She ran over to it and stuck the Galleon into the slot.

She pressed a few buttons and an old packet of Fizzing Whizbees appeared in the slot.

Ladybug tore the plastic wrap.

She swung her yo-yo around a horizontal pole that lay across the ceiling.

She immediately swung into the air, throwing the packet at Mr. Owl.

The Fizzing Whizbees spilled over his head, and the owls developed a hungry look in their golden eyes.

"Oh, owl poop," Mr. Owl weakly sighed as his owls attacked him.

Cat Noir grabbed the owl bird call.

"ACHOO!"

The owl bird call flew through the air, Mr. Owl, Ladybug, and Cat all leaping to snatch it.

All three had one hand on the owl bird call.

Ladybug lifted Cat Noir's clawed fingers and used them to smash it.

The akuma tried to fly away, but Ladybug immediately purified it.

"Bye bye, little butterfly," she giggled, releasing the white butterfly.

Ladybug retrieved the Galleon from the machine and tossed it into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" she shouted.

Mr. Owl turned into Mr. Ramier and all damage was repaired.

He Apparated back to the hallway that he was in before he had turned into Mr. Owl.

"See you litter, Bugaboo!" Cat Noir grinned, and pole-vaulted towards the Charms classroom.

Ladybug sighed and took a different route to the same classroom.

But, by fate, they didn't run into each other, nor did they see each other detransform.

There is a thin line between impatience and destiny.

 **…...**

Both Adrien and Marinette were very lucky, for they both had five minutes to spare by the time they arrived at Charms.

"Wow, this is by far the most hilarious edition of _The Ladybulletin_ by far! A villain who wants owls to take over Hogwarts? Comedy gold!" Nino laughed, reading the newest edition of Alya's newspaper.

"Alright class, take your seats!" Professor Bustier said as she stepped into the classroom.

Everyone scrambled to sit next to their best friends.

"Take out your wands, everyone!" Professor Bustier instructed.

The smell of fresh-cut wood filled the classroom, from Nino's oak wand to Ivan's sequoia wand to Juleka's willow wand.

"As most of you know, it is a tradition in Hogwarts that the first spell you learn is Wingardium Leviosa. It is a very useful spell. Please try it," Professor Bustier said.

Everyone gripped their wands and attempted to pronounce the phrase correctly and use their wands to lift their quills.

Sabrina and Max succeeded on their first try, but it took a full twenty-three minutes before everyone had perfected it.

They moved onto Accio, and before they knew it, Charms was over.

However, time seemed to crawl slower and slower and _slower_ as they neared the most anticipated class of the day: Flying.

Finally, the hour came.

Almost everyone sprinted to the Quidditch pitch a full thirteen minutes before class began.

Those who planned on joining their house's Quidditch team had brought their own brooms; those who did not just had to suffer through class on their cheap, slow, Shooting Stars.

Ah, Quidditch: the sport that always ignites the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin each year.

There was always a Slytherin leader and a Gryffindor leader, two Quidditch Captains that absolutely despised each other.

Alix had clenched her fist around her broom handle, impatiently waiting for Flying to start.

That was when Marinette noticed the golden name engraved on it, just a simple word.

 _Valkyrie_.

"What?" Marinette gasped. "Alix, your mother is Summer Riskins? The previous Captain of the extremely famous Flaming Phoenixes, the team that won the Quidditch World Cup ten years ago?"

"Yep," Alix confirmed. "Though it's Summer _Kubdel_ now. Mom passed her broom to me when she retired."

Exclamations of surprise and awe echoed around the Quidditch pitch.

"No way!" "Seriously?" "That's awesome!"

Everyone else was truly amazed; being near Amber Risikins' old broom, a Firebolt prototype dubbed 'The Valkyrie,' was equivalent to being near the Muggle basketball star Michael Jordan's sneakers.

However, there was one student that wasn't too impressed.

"Huh, so your mother is the one who beat my dad 390-389 in the Quidditch World Cup," Kim mused.

"You're Le Chien Ryan's kid, right? Used to be captain of the Electric Emus?" Alix teased.

"It's Electric _Eagles_ , get it right!" Kim seethed. "Anyway, I'm going to whoop your butt in the sky."

"You wish," Alix smirked. "But sorry, Kim, your slow little Quicksilver 360 isn't going to get you an inch off the ground."

"Sorry, but if my calculations are correct," Max interrupted, doing the mental math in his head. "Then the average speed of 'The Valkyrie' is eighty miles per hour. The average speed of Kim's Quicksilver 360 is also eighty miles per hour. Therefore, your brooms are equal."

Kim and Alix simply gave each other a death glare, an unspoken proposal of war.

Professor D'Argencourt arrived at the Quidditch pitch.

"This is the first of three Flying classes you will have. These three classes will determine whether or not you may attend tryouts for your house's Quidditch team. Now, the first part of Quidditch is owning a broom. I see that some of you who are not interested in this class have already borrowed Shooting Stars from the Broom Storage," he said.

He was looking at Chloe, Sabrina, Nino, Nathaniel, Rose, and Max in particular, for all of them had Shooting Stars.

Both Alya and Juleka had Comet 290s, the required broom for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

Mylene and Ivan each had a Nimbus 2500.

Adrien also owned a Quicksilver 360 like Kim.

Professor D'Argencourt marveled at 'The Valkyrie,' which Alix gripped proudly in her rather tiny fists.

Marinette had her trusty Cleansweep 12, which her parents had bought for her birthday last year.

"Lay your broom on the ground on the side of your dominant hand," Professor D'Argencourt instructed.

The class did as they were told.

"Now say 'Up!' Your broom will fly into your hand immediately if it accepts you. Those who have already done so with their brooms before attending Hogwarts have no need to say 'Up!' Those people may simply mount their brooms," Professor D'Argencourt continued.

Alix, Juleka, Marinette, and Kim mounted their brooms, taking care not to lean in any direction and accidentally be launched thirty feet in the air.

"Up!" Rose and Mylene shouted in their quiet little voices.

Their brooms levitated into their hands, much to their delight.

"Up! Please! With a Chocolate Frog on top?" Nino begged his broom.

His Shooting Star reluctantly flew into his hand.

"Up!" Alya shouted.

She grinned as her Comet 290 floated into her hand.

"Up!" Nathaniel whispered. "Come on, pretty please?"

The broom stayed on the ground.

"UP! UP! UP! I DEMAND YOU TO FLY INTO MY HAND, STUPID BROOM!" Chloe yelled at her Shooting Star.

It shivered in fear.

"That's not how it works, Chloe," Professor D'Argencourt sighed.

"Stupid Flying class," Chloe muttered under her breath.

"Maybe you should be more gentle?" Sabrina, who already had her Shooting Star in her hand, suggested.

Chloe gave her the Evil Eye.

"Up!" Ivan bellowed.

His Nimbus 2500 immediately flew into his hand.

"Good job, Ivan," Professor D'Argencourt congratulated him.

"Yeah, that was great!" Mylene, who was next to him, cheered.

Ivan blushed.

Juleka murmured something to Nathaniel.

"Can you repeat that?" he asked.

"Be louder," Juleka whispered. "It's just going to stay on the ground if you keep being quiet when you say 'up.' You have to be louder."

"Oh," Nathaniel said. "Okay then."

"Up!" he shouted.

The broom slowly lifted itself a foot off of the ground, but it soon fell.

"Keep on trying," Juleka encouraged him. "And make sure you're not too distracted by Marinette."

She said the last part quietly.

Nathaniel blushed.

 _How could Juleka possibly know about my crush on Marinette?_ he thought.

"Up!" Adrien frustratedly shouted.

His Quicksilver 360 didn't budge.

"Hmmmm, try tilting your hand thirty-three degrees to the left," Max offered.

Adrien tilted his hand and shouted "Up!" again.

The broom stayed on the ground.

"Just believe in yourself," Marinette said. "Think about the feeling of the wood in your hands, dark and smooth with no splinters. Think about its prickly bristles. Imagine yourself flying in a field, just you and the broom. The wind blowing back your hair, the feeling of the gentle breeze on your face and-"

Marinette froze.

"Sorry about that! I'm rambling, aren't I? But it worked for me, so, uh, yeah," she stuttered. "Have you flown before?"

"Yeah, but it used to be on 'The Lioness.' It's a very quick broom," Adrien whispered in her ear.

Marinette's jaw dropped.

"Your mom was Avery Lionne, the fastest Chaser in the entire history of the Flaming Phoenixes?!" she whispered back.

"Yep," Adrien confirmed. "But please don't yell it from the rooftops. I'm already famous enough at Hogwarts."

Adrien tried Marinette's technique.

The Quicksilver 360 levitated into his hand.

"Thanks, Marinette," Adrien said.

"No problem," she squeaked.

At this point, everyone had mounted their brooms.

"Alright, everyone! Kick off of the ground and lean forward!" Professor D'Argencourt instructed them.

Kim and Alix dashed toward the finish line, neck-at-neck.

"I won!" Kim smugly announced.

"You don't have to broadcast it to the world," Alix muttered.

Adrien and Marinette leaned forward.

Marinette's Cleansweep 12 was surprisingly fast, and she beat Adrien by 3.67 seconds.

At least, that's what Max said.

Alya was by far the best first-time rider in the entire class, reaching the other end of the pitch right after Adrien.

Juleka and Rose swiftly came side by side, Juleka assuring Rose that everything was fine; for although Rose was a decent flier, she had extreme acrophobia (the fear of heights).

Mylene and Ivan came on their Nimbus 2500s.

The Nimbus 2500 was a broom designed just for Beaters: decently fast and made of a single twig from one of the strongest redwood trees.

Max and Sabrina kept a steady pace as they flew, never going past twenty-nine miles per hour.

Nino and Nathaniel were jerky riders, constantly crashing into each other and immediately apologizing afterwards.

Chloe came dead last, crossing the finish line at a pathetic three miles per hour.

"Class dismissed," Professor D'Argencourt announced as Chloe dismounted.

Everyone had two hours and fifteen minutes of free time, and as there was no homework, they simply wandered throughout Hogwarts.

Elsewhere, a hardworking Hufflepuff chiseled at his statue, nearly finished.

The fourth-year took a step back to admire his work.

Theo had carved every detail of Ladybug and Cat Noir.

He had secretly stayed up the whole night to finish it, and it would be presented in twenty minutes!

Theo's beautiful stone statue would be placed right on the Hogwarts campus, there for everyone to see and marvel at.

He took out a picture of Ladybug that a first-year Ravenclaw girl named Alya had taken the day before.

The superheroine in the photo grinned and waved.

Ladybug was truly beautiful, and Theo couldn't help but admit that he was absolutely smitten with her the second he laid eyes on her angelic face.

He chiseled the tip of Cat Noir's nose.

He was finished!

And soon Ladybug would see his work.

She would love it!

"Hey Theo, it's time to move the statue!" Alec interrupted, entering Theo's studio.

Alec was a loudmouthed fourth-year Slytherin, but he had lots of good qualities, which was exactly why Theo was his best friend.

Theo pointed his walnut wood wand at the statue.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he said.

The statue floated into the air.

Theo and Alec walked to the statue's future location, both of them buzzing with anticipation.

 **…...…...…...**

Cat Noir pole-vaulted to the statue.

It was covered with a white sheet.

He was right on time, for the unveiling was going to begin in two minutes.

"You must be Theo, the sculptor of this fine statue," Cat Noir said.

"Yeah, but where's Ladybug?" Theo asked.

"I'm sure she's just late," Cat Noir reassured him.

Soon, the unveiling ceremony began.

Ladybug didn't show up.

Headmaster Fu congratulated Theo on the completion of his statue.

Theo sadly removed the sheet.

Even though everyone clapped and cheered, it didn't cheer him up because of Ladybug's absence.

After the ceremony, everyone had left except Cat Noir and Theo.

"I can't believe Ladybug didn't show up," the latter sighed. "I worked so hard to capture her beauty, her bravery, her confidence, her kindness, and everything else that there are no words to describe."

Cat Noir's nose twitched with jealousy.

Wait…...jealousy?

He wasn't jealous…...

Was he?

Cat Noir knew one thing for certain: nobody was allowed to talk about his lady in that way.

And if this sculptor possibly thought that he had the right to, Cat Noir was going to show him that he didn't.

"So, Theo, do you mind if I tell you something?" Cat Noir grinned.

"What?" Theo asked.

"Yeah, Ladybug and I…..we're a thing," the feline superhero lied.

So what if he was lying?

He had a reason.

A very legit reason.

Theo's face fell.

"Oh…...you two are….dating?" Theo gulped.

"Yup," Cat Noir confirmed, and pole-vaulted away.

Theo stomped away to his studio.

"How could Ladybug possibly be in love with a no-good scumbag of a cat like him?" Theo angrily asked himself, shoving a previous model of Cat Noir's head off of a table. "She deserves so much better!"

 **…...…...…...**

"Ah, what a poor soul," Hawkmoth laughed.

He pointed his cane-like wand at an innocent butterfly.

"Akuma Kedavra!" Hawkmoth shouted.

The akuma flew out of the window.

It soon found Theo and landed on his picture of Ladybug.

"Copycat, you can destroy Cat Noir and have Ladybug to yourself. But I need their Miraculouses first," Hawkmoth told him.

Dark magic washed over Theo and he turned into an exact clone of Cat Noir.

"Sounds purrfect," Copycat cackled.

 **…...…...…...**

Marinette entered the library.

She promised Alya that she'd be there to hang out with her, but Alya was nowhere to be found.

Professor Damocles, the librarian who doubled as the Transfiguration teacher, waved her over.

"Are you Marinette? Your friend Alya told me to give this to you," Professor Damocles said as he handed her a note.

 _Hey, Marinette! Sorry I can't hang out with you. I have to take pictures at the unveiling ceremony. A fourth-year Hufflepuff named Theo sculpted an amazing statue of Ladybug and Cat Noir. You should check it out! ~Alya_

Gah! Marinette had forgotten about the unveiling ceremony!

She was supposed to be there as Ladybug!

And she 100% totally _forgot_.

How typical.

Suddenly, Alya sprinted into the library and nearly crashed into Marinette.

"You…..have….to…..see this," Alya panted, shoving the newest edition of _The Ladybulletin_ in Marinette's face.

Marinette took the newspaper and nearly had a heart attack when she read the gigantic, bold, terrifying headline: **CAT NOIR- SUPERHERO OR SUPER THIEF?**

She read the article.

Apparently, Cat Noir just broke into Headmaster Fu's office and stolen the Sword of Gryffindor -One of the most important magical relics at Hogwarts!- and now, almost every teacher in Hogwarts was after him.

There were pictures and everything.

"What?!" Marinette gasped.

"I know! This is _crazy!_ It's already sold out! And I printed four hundred copies!" Alya exclaimed.

"If you're going to shout, please exit the library," Professor Damocles interrupted. "But do you possibly have an extra copy I could have?"

"No problem," Alya laughed and handed him a rolled-up copy from her pocket.

The two girls left the library.

"But Cat Noir's a hero! He saved your life, remember? What could he possibly want with the Sword of Gryffindor?" Marinette asked.

"Who knows? One thing that's certain is that _The Ladybulletin_ is exploding! I just got three hundred fifty-seven subscribers from this edition alone!" Alya raved.

"Ummm, I gotta go the bathroom," Marinette nervously laughed.

"Now?" Alya asked, but Marinette had already sprinted down the hallway.

Once Marinette was out of sight, Tikki zipped out of her pocket.

"I know for sure that Cat Noir isn't the one who stole the Sword of Gryffindor. Sure, past wielders of the Black Cat Miraculous may have been villains, but there's one thing that they've never been capable of: betrayal. They're either villains or heroes. No in-between, and no switching from one to the other," Tikki said.

Marinette let out a sigh of relief.

"So it must be an akumatized villain that looks like Cat Noir," Tikki theorized. "You know what to do."

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette shouted.

Ladybug ran throughout the halls, looking for her partner.

Her _real_ partner.

Suddenly, she was yanked into a classroom.

All of the professors in Hogwarts walked by, their wands out.

Ladybug looked at who was holding her hand.

"My lady, you gotta believe me. I'm innocent!" Cat Noir swore.

"I know that you're innocent. Unfortunately, I'm the only one with that opinion," Ladybug sighed. "There's an akumatized villain out there who looks exactly like you."

"Theo," Cat Noir realized.

"The sculptor? What happened?" Ladybug asked.

Cat Noir blushed.

"I sort of kind of became a teensy tiny bit jealous, so I may have or may have not told Theo that we're in a relationship," Cat Noir admitted.

"Jealous of _what?"_ Ladybug questioned.

"He has a crush on you and I…...uhhhhh...….it doesn't matter now, we just have to defeat him!" Cat Noir blurted. "But sorry, Ladybug, this is between me and him."

He locked her into the classroom.

The one classroom without windows.

For a superhero with the power of luck itself, she was really unlucky.

 **…...…...…...**

Cat Noir ran to Theo's studio.

The only place that made sense.

The place was abandoned, or so he thought.

Cat Noir walked over to a small table with a note and a lucky cat.

He picked up the note.

 _The cat's in the bag._

Suddenly, two shackles wrapped around his wrists and chained him to the ground.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir shouted.

He attempted to touch the chains, but a clawed hand grabbed Cat Noir's hand and forced him to touch a useless block of wood, therefore wasting his Cataclysm.

"Theo," Cat Noir spat.

"The name's Copycat. Soon, Ladybug will come, and then I'll have her to myself forever!" Copycat grinned. "But first, I'll need your ring."

Copycat pinned Cat Noir to the ground.

He was about to pull the ring off, but Ladybug arrived.

"Look, Ladybug, I caught him in his own trap," Copycat said, perfectly imitating Cat Noir's voice.

"Stop! Don't listen to him! I'm the real Cat Noir!" Cat Noir protested.

"Where's the akuma?" Ladybug asked.

"In his ring, of course," Copycat purred.

"A picture in his pocket," Cat Noir said at the same time.

Ladybug was about to pull the ring off, but Cat Noir interrupted her.

"I'm the real Cat Noir," he repeated. "Would I ever lie to you, _Bugaboo?"_

Ladybug froze at the nickname.

She leaned in towards Copycat.

"You didn't tell him about that secret promise we made, did you?" she asked.

"N-No, I didn't tell him," Copycat stuttered.

"I never made any promises, you fake," Ladybug frowned.

While Copycat was distracted, Cat Noir kicked him off.

"Cataclysm!" Copycat snarled.

He ran towards Cat Noir, but Ladybug was there to stop him.

Copycat destroyed the chains in Ladybug's hands, accidentally freeing his captive.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted.

A red, black-spotted spoon dropped into her hands.

Meanwhile, Copycat and Cat Noir had started a cat fight.

Their powers were equal, and neither of them were winning.

Ladybug looked around and spotted a beam across the ceiling, her yo-yo, a roll of tape, and Cat Noir's metal stick.

"Cat Noir, I'm going to need you to trust me!" Ladybug warned her partner.

"Whatever you need, m'lady," Cat Noir said as he kicked Copycat in a place thatshouldn't be kicked.

"Give me your weapon," Ladybug commanded.

"What?" Cat Noir asked in disbelief.

"Trust me!" Ladybug shouted.

"You're crazy, but sure!" Cat Noir yelled, throwing his metal stick at her and stealing Copycat's metal stick all in one motion.

Ladybug made a makeshift fishing pole and perched on the beam, waiting for the perfect moment.

Cat Noir tripped Copycat, giving Ladybug the perfect chance to throw the spoon through a hole in his tail/belt.

Ladybug jumped off of the beam, making Copycat hang from the beam by his tail.

She yanked the picture out of his pocket and tore it in half.

"Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug shouted, purifying the akuma.

"Bye bye, little butterfly," she said as she released the butterfly.

She threw the spoon into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

Copycat reverted back to Theo and the door she had busted open repaired itself.

"Better help him out. Looks like his crush just got crushed," Cat Noir suggested.

Ladybug nodded and helped Theo up.

"That makes two of us," Cat Noir sighed once he was alone.

 **…...…...…...**

"So it looks like Cat Noir isn't a supervillain after all," Alya shrugged, handing Marinette a new copy of _The Ladybulletin_ that announced Cat Noir wasn't really evil.

"You almost sound disappointed," Marinette giggled.

"I do _not_. But seriously, this school has it all! Wands, flying brooms, enchanted swords, headless ghosts, mysterious dungeons, dangerous creatures, supervillains, superheroes- all we need are some ninjas and aliens, then it will be complete!" Alya laughed.

"Be careful what you wish for," Marinette warned her best friend.

"I don't need to wish upon a star. I have magic!" Alya grinned.

Yep, that was Marinette's life- hanging out with her best friend, having a crush, Charms, Flying, defeating supervillains, being a secret superhero, and other normal things.

 **…...…...…...**

 **That was a** ** _loooooong_** **chapter! This sounds really lame, but I'm posting fanart…...for my own fanfiction. I'm going to post fanart for The Magic Between Us on Google+ soon! My Google+ name is Shadow of the Elements. Stay tuned, OTPeople!**


	5. Promises With Paintings

**Hey, OTPeople! I'm back with Chapter 4 of** ** _The Magic Between Us._** **I'm going to explain my sudden disappearance after this chapter. I think I might slip into a two-or-three-villains-per-chapter sort of routine, so this chapter is going to include Timebreaker, the akumatized version of Alec, and the Evillustrator (mentioned). These villains will not be written about: Stormy Weather, Bubbler, Pharaoh, Horrificator, Mime, Kung Food, Puppeteer, Reflekta, Guitar Villain, Pixelator/Digital, Princess Fragrance, and Jackady/Simon Says. You already know why I'm not writing about Gamer, Rogercop, and Lady Wifi. And I might akumatize an OC later because I feel like it. There are a few OC teachers and students, so I hope you don't mind. I will also insert a few jokes about Nargles. Hogwarts will also not have classes on Saturdays and Sundays.**

 **….…...…...…...**

 ** _Chapter 4: Promises With Paintings_**

 _One Week Or So Later_

Marinette ran down the hallway to her next class, for she had just narrowly dodged the pot of ink that Peeves the Poltergeist had thrown at her.

She was the best student in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and it was her favorite class, even surpassing her love for Robes Design.

Well, she supposed that being Ladybug had given her the confidence to defeat any evil creature that Professor Timmonds threw at her.

Professor Timmonds was an amiable old man with thick graying blond hair (rather similar to a lion's mane), a mustache, and a beard the same color.

Even though he was in his late fifties, Professor Timmonds was very muscular and could probably tear a Lethifold to pieces.

A scar ran across one of his gray eyes, given to him during a scuffle with a Chinese Fireball Dragon.

Unfortunately, the dragon had also branded him with the everlasting smell of burning chicken.

She ran inside the poorly-lit classroom just three seconds before Professor Timmonds Apparated right next to her and the scent of charred poultry filled the classroom.

"Today we will be summoning our Patronuses," Professor Timmonds announced as Marinette sat down next to Alya. "Although the population of Dementors has decreased over the last few years, the Patronus Charm is an essential spell to learn. It has been known to prevent countless encounters with Dementors from resulting in a fatal loss on the wizard's part. You simply need to think about your happiest memory while saying 'Expecto Patronum.'"

A silver lion unexpectedly burst forth from his alder wand.

The Lion Patronus's wispy mane flew back as it dashed around the classroom in all its glory.

The students gasped in amazement.

The lion soon faded.

Max raised his hand.

Professor Timmonds acknowledged the extremely intelligent Ravenclaw.

"Yes, Max?"

"What _is_ your happiest memory?" Max asked. "It must be a _very_ strong one for you to summon a Patronus so quickly."

"Relaxing on a vacation in the Bahamas with a tall glass of lemonade in my hand," Professor Timmonds replied.

"Seem suitable for an old grandpa like him," Chloe snickered to Sabrina.

"Really? _That's_ your happiest memory?" Alix deadpanned.

"No, of course not!" Professor Timmonds heartily laughed. "This may sound sappy, but my happiest memory is teaching the students at Hogwarts."

Adrien smiled.

Professor Timmonds was by far his favorite teacher in all of Hogwarts.

The man practically radiated a contagious, nostalgic feeling of protection and bravery, which explained why he had been the Head of Gryffindor before he passed the role onto Professor Bustier.

But Adrien didn't tell anyone that the teacher of his Defence Against the Dark Arts class was his favorite, because the news of a Slytherin liking a Gryffindor teacher would certainly earn him some odd glances.

"Now, everyone, try thinking of your happiest memory," Professor Timmonds instructed them.

Everyone shut their eyes, and memories, some recent, some long forgotten, returned to the students.

Alya thought of the day that she and her friends went on a picnic at Valley Wind Park when she was nine.

She had played tag with her ginger cat (who was only a small kitten back then) named Pumpkin, and her old friends Claire, Victoria, and Savannah.

Both Mylene and Ivan remembered the first time they met each other.

Nathaniel remembered curling up in his grandmother's lap by the fireplace as a child while she sang German lullabies to him.

Kim couldn't help thinking about his first broom race around the Quidditch pitch with Alix four days ago.

Sabrina thought about the time her parents gave her the entire Sherlock Holmes collection (her favorite book series in the history of ever) for her eleventh birthday.

Marinette's happiest memory came to her mind immediately: the day Adrien had handed her his umbrella.

Meanwhile, Adrien frantically searched his brain for something, _anything_ that made him happy.

While everyone's eyes were shut, Tikki and Plagg gestured to Adrien and Marinette's Miraculouses.

They reluctantly took off the earrings and the ring and slipped them inside their pockets.

Tikki and Plagg disappeared.

"Wands out! Now, try to summon your Patronus!" Professor Timmonds commanded his students.

Everyone drew out their wands.

Marinette thought of Adrien, the sound of the cold rain against the umbrella.

That rainy day was anything but dreary.

A warm feeling blossomed in her stomach.

"Expecto Patronum!" Marinette confidently said.

An elegant swan burst forth from her wand, swimming through the air like it was drifting across a pond.

"That was spectacular, Marinette!" Alya cheered.

The swan slowed down and faded.

Soon, Ivan's grizzly bear cradled Mylene's tiny mouse in its arms.

"Awwwww, they're so adorable!" Rose squealed as her nightingale flew around Juleka's wide-eyed fruit bat.

Juleka smiled.

Nathaniel stared at his hedgehog, which immediately rolled up into a spiky ball.

"Great. My Patronus is afraid of me," he mumbled to himself.

Alya and Nino doubled over with laughter as Alya's squirrel quickly climbed all over Nino's wolf with random bursts of speed, which caused the latter to let out a howl of complaint.

Chloe's terrifying snake coiled in one character, hissing at any Patronus that came by, except for Sabrina's sheep.

Max's pigeon stayed in one place, thoughtfully gazing at its conjuror.

Kim's proud tiger roared.i

"So. _Cool!"_ Kim gasped. "I have the most awesome Patronus in this entire-"

"A _rabbit?!_ I get a stinking _rabbit_ of all animals? This is _so_ not fair!" Alix whined as her Patronus twitched its nose. "I wanted something that had deathly-sharp claws at the very _least!"_

"Alix, that's not a rabbit. It's a hare," Professor Timmonds pointed out. "You should consider yourself lucky. Hares are one of the fastest creatures in the world."

Alix's eyes lit up with excitement.

Suddenly, Kim's silvery tiger sauntered over to Alix's hare.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, a wordless challenge passing between them.

The two Patronuses raced around the room, scaring the Nargles out of wizards and Patronuses alike.

"Expecto Patronum!" Adrien frustratedly said, waving his wand like he was conducting an orchestra.

"Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum! _Expecto_ _Patronum!"_

Not even a wisp of silver light appeared.

"Are you sure that you're thinking about your happiest memory, Adrien?" Professor Timmonds asked.

"More or less," Adrien sighed. "Probably less."

"Just keep on searching for that memory, Adrien. Don't give up," Professor Timmonds encouraged him.

Adrien tried a new memory.

His wonderful, small family.

It had only consisted of three people, but that was enough for him.

His father had smiled more often back then, and sometimes he even gave Adrien piggyback rides around the mansion, much to the little rider's delight.

And then there was his mother.

His beautiful, courageous mother who always told him bedtime stories about the greatest wizard heroes and their battles against the evillest wizard criminals, ones that made him shiver in fear at the description of the villains and cheer when the main character was winning.

But it wasn't working, because instead of producing a Patronus, the memories only caused Adrien to try to prevent his flood of tears from escaping.

The dam holding the excessive waterworks sprang a tiny leak, but the leak was large enough to let a single tear roll down Adrien's face.

He wiped the tear off and began playing a timelapse video of his life in his mind, desperately searching for his happiest memory.

Adrien suddenly paused.

 _Ladybug_.

 _Ladybug_ was the blessing to his curse.

She was the bright burst of color in his dim, gray world.

Ladybug was his happiest memory.

He was sure of it.

He took a deep breath and pointed his wand at the sky.

"Expecto Patronum!" Adrien boldly said.

A Patronus crawled out of his wand.

It was a large cat with feathery wings.

Chloe shrieked and hid under her desk.

Everyone else gasped and cowered in fear.

They all averted the Patronus's icy stare.

Adrien stared into its eyes before it faded away.

"What _was_ that thing?" Alya asked, not scared in the slightest of the winged cat.

"Th-That was a G-Grim," Marinette answered, clearly shaken by the creature.

"I thought Grims were dogs," Alya shrugged.

Professor Timmonds cleared his throat.

"Over the last fourteen years, a new type of Grim has appeared. A new omen of death. Instead of a large black dog, people have reported seeing a large black cat with raven-like wings. A feline Grim. When you see a cat instead of a dog, you die twice as fast," he nervously explained.

Alya's eyes widened with horror.

"But don't worry. That wasn't a real Grim, it was a Patronus. Nobody will die. We just have to accept that Adrien's Patronus is a Grim," Professor Timmonds reassured the students.

Murmurs spread throughout the classroom.

The clock reached 10:45.

"Class dismissed!" Professor Timmonds announced.

Marinette and Adrien quickly put their Miraculouses back on.

"What do we have next?" Nino asked.

Marinette checked her schedule.

"Herbology. It's such a shame that Professor Longbottom can't teach us. His schedule is too busy already, and he can only teach the second, third, and fourth-years," Marinette said.

The students walked to Greenhouse Three and saw Professor Whipwind tickling the tendrils of a three foot tall laughblossom flower.

The laughblossom flower's petals shook with delight as its high-pitched giggles filled the room.

Professor Whipwind was a short plump woman with gray hair that she always tied up in a loose bun.

She looked and acted completely harmless, but if you messed with one of her many peculiar plants, she would curse you faster than you can say 'I blame it on the Nargles.'

"Today we will be learning about the many properties of the laughblossom flower," Professor Whipwind said. "I will be placing you in pairs. Each pair will raise a laughblossom flower from seedling to full bloom. First off, we have Adrien Agreste and Nino Lahiffe."

Nino and Adrien high-fived each other.

"Next, we have Chloe Bourgeois and Sabrina Raincomprix. Mylene Haprele and Alix Kubdel. Le Chien Kim and Max Kante. Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Alya Cesaire. Rose Lavillant and Juleka Couffaine. Last but not least, we have Nathaniel Kurtzberg and Ivan Bruel," Professor Whipwind continued. "Go to a station with your respective partner."

Seven pots filled with dirt were on a rectangular table in the center, and each pair walked over to one of them.

"The seed is alive. Try to catch it," Professor Whipwind instructed. "It's about the size of a walnut."

 _"Catch_ it?" Alya asked Marinette.

Marinette could only shrug in response.

Suddenly, the innocent giggle of a baby filled the room.

Something hit Chloe square in the back.

"Was that _you?!_ " Chloe hissed at Ivan.

"That wasn't him, I swear!" Nathaniel defended his partner.

"Says the guy who tried to murder me with flying shoes!" Chloe screeched.

"It's _your_ fault that he was akumatized!" Marinette said.

Nathaniel only stroked his quill in his pocket lovingly.

It was still his favorite quill, even though an akuma had landed on it only three days before.

Both Adrien and Marinette were glad that Hawkmoth had cooled down from his sudden streak of akumas on the first two days of school.

A giggle, seemingly from nowhere, echoed in the room as something fell on Alix's head.

"Watch it, meathead!" Alix scowled at Kim.

Max ignored Kim and Alix's usual arguing and ran around the room, trying in vain to catch something.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Kim asked.

"Trying to catch the seed, of course. It _is_ invisible, after all. And it's a pesky little thing, too. Laughblossom seeds love to create mischief," Sabrina piped up.

"I caught it!" Max cheered as he tripped and cupped a seed in his hands.

He shoved it into his pot and muffled giggling came from the dirt.

"Good job, Max!" Professor Whipwind congratulated him.

"Way to go, buddy!" Kim cheered, giving his partner a pat on the back.

Following Max's example, the students dashed around the room, desperately trying to catch a laughblossom seed.

Alya tackled a seed and snatched it from underneath her stomach.

She gave the seed to Marinette, who gently planted the seed inside their pot.

"These things are harder to catch than the Golden Snitch!" Nino panted as he and Adrien sprinted after a laughblossom seed and poked it into their pot.

Soon enough, each pair had caught a seed and planted it.

"The laughblossom flower is an incredible delicate plant. You must not touch its pollen inside, for it will release an acid that will Petrify you. It is for this reason that the laughblossom is known as the 'Basilisk's Flower.' If you tug on its petals, it will let out a soft scream," Professor Whipwind explained.

"Does that _hurt_ the flower?" Rose asked, clearly worried about the plant's wellfare.

"No. It's just an act. Laughblossom flowers are known for being extremely theatrical," the professor replied. "Now, can anyone tell me the main use of laughblossom tendrils?"

Marinette raised her hand.

"Yes, Marinette?"

"Laughblossom tendrils are the main diet of bicorns. Therefore, a chopped-up laughblossom tendril can replace powdered bicorn horn in many potions, such as the Polyjuice Potion. Laughblossom flowers saved bicorns from going extinct," Marinette answered. "Liquified laughblossom tendrils also add a sweet flavor to cake frosting and makes the consumer feel comforted. I should know, because it's one of the main ingredients in my father's pumpkin and cream cheese whoopie pie."

"Very good, Marinette! Remind me to order something from your parent's bakery soon," Professor Whipwind smiled.

"Teacher's pet," Chloe snarled.

Professor Whipwind continued to explain a laughblossom flower's extremely particular diet- pure Runespoor venom extracted from the fangs in the second head with a dash of Nogtail blood and a cup of bubotuber pus.

Simply _divine_.

"Alright class, time to put on your dragon-hide gloves. We don't want anyone to be sent to Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing," she continued.

Everyone slipped on a pair of leathery gloves.

Every student's black scaly gloves looked the same except for Chloe's.

Her gloves were golden and had a large blue diamond on the back of each palm.

The scent of rotten eggs filled the air as Professor Whipwind brought out seven buckets full of a foul-smelling substance.

The strange acidic mixture in the buckets were bubbling and were a sickly greenish-yellow color.

"Good God, what is this stuff? Liquid snot?" Kim recoiled, pinching his nose.

Professor Whipwind ignored Kim and started handing out the buckets, but it didn't go unnoticed when she gave him and Max the most rancid one.

Each pair took turns watering their plant.

One partner would dump the goo into their pot, holding their breath; the other would breathe into a clean rag until the first partner ran out of breath, and then they would switch.

Luckily, the laughblossom seed soaked up all of the putrid sludge and the nasty odor disappeared as well.

Adrien grinned as a tiny leaf poked out of the dirt.

"I see that some of your seeds have already germinated. Your homework is to make a list of fifteen common plants in the Wizarding World that are often mistaken by Muggles to be poisonous herbs," Professor Whipwind said. "Class dismissed!"

"Fresh air! It feels so good to breath you again!" Alya dramatically said as they left Greenhouse Three and walked to the Great Hall.

"What's the rush, Nino?" Marinette asked as Nino practically bounced down the hallway.

"You see, during lunch they're going to choose the Quidditch games announcers. There are five positions. One is reserved for a teacher -I heard it's going to be Professor Bustier this year- and the other four positions are for an announcer from each house to keep the commentary unbiased. I really want to be the Hufflepuff announcer," Nino explained as he nervously tapped his foot.

"Who else is competing?" Marinette asked.

"There's me and a third-year guy from Hufflepuff, but he stutters a lot. A second-year Ravenclaw girl named Mireille is the only one participating in her house, so she's obviously going to get the position. Those prankster third-year cousins in Gryffindor, Abby and Zack Johnson, are competing against each other, and there's also an energetic fourth-year named Emma; I reckon she'll win. Oh, and from Slytherin there's a fourth-year dude named Alec who already won three times, but he's got a major competitor. Chloe wants the spot too," Nino said.

"Good luck! We'll bring you some shepherd's pie before Robes Designing!" Adrien shouted as his best friend sprinted down the hallway, nearly crashing into a group of second-years as he ran.

 **…...…**

Alec cleared his throat and practiced in front of the mirror.

"And Mandy passes to Rick- Rick shoots- AN AMAZING SAVE FROM RAVENCLAW'S VERY OWN ALICE PAILLARD!"

Alec looked admiringly at the poster of his idol that was plastered over his bed- Lee Jordan, the most famous Quidditch announcer ever.

Lee pretended to yell things like "GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" and "THAT WAS A BLOODY FOUL, MCGONAGALL!"

Alec grinned.

He headed to Professor Bustier's office where the competition would be held.

"It's your turn, Alec," Chloe smugly grinned as Alec entered the room.

 _Hmph, that prissy daddy's girl is no match for me_ , he thought.

A strange feeling bubbled in his throat.

"Show me what you've got," Professor Bustier said.

He sat down in the chair and held up the enchanted microphone.

Alec tried to yell his routine from earlier, but nothing came out.

He was mouthing the words, but Alec's voice was gone.

And then he realized something.

Chloe had put a Silencing Charm on him.

How had he not noticed?

He had felt the telltale shuddering sensation when he enter Professor Bustier's office, but he had merely brushed it off as nervous excitement.

"Alec, please take this seriously," Professor Bustier said.

Alix frantically tried to say something, but he couldn't.

"Please just go if you think this all a funny joke like Abby and Zack did. Chloe, _you're_ the Slytherin Quidditch announcer," the teacher sighed.

Alec angrily stomped out of Professor Bustier's office, the microphone clenched in his fists.

 _Chloe, that stupid good-for-nothing cheater!_ Alec thought.

An akuma landed on his microphone.

"Echo, you can make Chloe pay for her wrongdoings. _Ah-Ah-Achoo!_ But I need Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses in return," Hawkmoth said, sneezing up a storm.

"That sounds great!" Alec grinned.

The akuma's dark magic spread over him.

His Slytherin robes were now entirely black, but a cloak had been added.

It was dark blue with white designs that resembled sound waves.

His skin was a pale shade of purple and his eyes were red.

His microphone bore a single stripe of sound waves.

"LOOK OUT, CHLOE BOURGEOIS!" Echo screeched.

His voice had amplified so much that a few suits of armor blew into the next hallway and the people in every painting rushed to a different portrait, presumably far, far away from the akumatized villain.

Echo let out a booming laugh, satisfied with his new power, as a chandelier crashed to the floor.

 **…...**

Marinette walked into Robes Design, her second-favorite class.

It was taught by Gabriel Agreste, her crush's father as well as her idol.

And the best part?

Professor Agreste _liked_ her designs.

When Chloe had tried to copy her hat design that was inspired by Mr. Owl, he was impressed when Marinette proved that the design belonged to her.

As soon as everyone was seated, Professor Ploytwit began the lesson.

She was substituting today, because Mr. Agreste was 'not feeling so well.'

Mr. Agreste was partially telling the truth; he sneezed every time he tried to send out directions to Echo.

"Today, we will be working on patterns," Professor Ploytwit announced.

A few students grimaced.

"But not just any patterns," she added. "Watch and see."

She pointed her wand at Rose's robes.

"Germino Exemplum!"

Suddenly, a green seedling sprouted on the hem of her robes.

It grew into a series of green stems and leaves.

The students gasped in awe as the buds bloomed into beautiful pink roses.

"You may keep the design until the end of class," Professor Ploytwit said.

Rose blushed and smiled.

Suddenly, screams sounded from the hallways.

"Or not," Professor Ploytwit frowned.

She opened the door to check out what was going on, but immediately jerked her head back into the classroom.

"There is a new akuma. I'm afraid we'll have to practice the Pattern Charm the next lesson," she announced. "Hopefully, by then, Professor Agreste won't have a cold."

She pointed her wand at Rose's robes again.

"Germino Novis!"

The roses faded away.

"Now, everyone, gather around your Portkeys!" Professor Ploytwit commanded.

Portkeys for each respective house in every classroom had been added for safety when Ivan was akumatized.

Professor Ploytwit brought out four swatches of fabric- one red, one yellow, one blue, and one green.

The students each touched the sheet of fabric that belonged to their house and immediately teleported in front of their common room's entrance.

Alix, Nathaniel, and Marinette landed in a heap in front of King Arthur's painting.

"What's the password?" the young ruler questioned, pointing Excalibur at them.

"China teaset," Nathaniel groaned from the bottom of the pile.

Alix and Marinette rolled off of Nathaniel and helped him through the hole as King Arthur's portrait swung open.

Nathaniel and Alix walked to their rooms.

Marinette made sure that nobody was looking before Tikki flew out.

"Who do you think was akumatized?" Marinette asked.

"I think it has something to do with the Quidditch announcer competition that Nino was talking about," Tikki guessed. "I sensed strong negative emotions coming from Professor Bustier's classroom during lunch."

"It must've been Chloe again," Marinette sighed. "Tikki, spots on!"

Ladybug pushed the portrait open.

 _"Ladybug?!"_ King Arthur exclaimed.

 _Shoot_.

She'd forgotten about him.

"I predicted that a valiant heroine like yourself _must_ be from Gryffindor!" King Arthur beamed.

"Shhhhh, not so loud," Ladybug scolded him. "Please, can you not tell anyone else?"

"I, King Arthur Pendragon, do solemnly swear upon my own golden crown that I will not tell anyone or anything, whether it be the Fat Friar or a chair, that Ladybug is in Gryffindor," the monarch promised.

"Thank you," Ladybug said, sighing with relief.

"Anytime, fair maiden," King Arthur winked as Ladybug ran off.

 **…...**

"What do you think _you're_ doing?" Merlin asked.

"Ummmm….I'm just...visiting…..my friend in Slytherin?" Cat Noir said.

It was the weakest excuse he had ever come up with.

Merlin raised a watercolor eyebrow, then laughed.

"Good for you! Finally, a hero from Slytherin!" Merlin chuckled. "It's always _Gryffindor_ this and _Gryffindor_ that. King Arthur _is_ my best friend, but sometimes I get tired hearing about every quest he's completed."

"So you won't tell anyone?" Cat Noir hopefully said.

"Heavens, no! Good luck defeating that akuma!" Merlin encouraged the superhero.

Cat Noir grinned and sprinted away on all fours.

 **…...**

An ear-splitting shriek reached Ladybug's ears.

"CHLOE BOURGEOIS, I DEMAND THAT YOU SHOW YOURSELF!"

"He's even louder than a Howler!" Ladybug winced, pressing her hands to her ears.

"You'd think that a Banshee got loose," Cat Noir added, landing next to her.

The akumatized villain stepped into the hallway.

"Alec?" Cat Noir gasped.

"MY NAME IS ECHO!" Echo yelled.

The force of his voice knocked Ladybug and Cat Noir into the next hallway.

They were about to slam into a wall before the sudden cry of "Molliare!" was heard.

The wall suddenly felt like a soft pillow.

Ladybug and Cat Noir gently fell to the ground.

"Who cast the Cushioning Charm?" Ladybug said, rubbing her back where she landed.

"I did!" Alya happily responded.

She seemed to be completely unfazed by Echo's eardrum-shattering yelling.

"Do you mind if I take a few pictures?"

"How are you _not_ affected by Echo's voice?" Cat Noir gaped, absolutely dumbfounded.

"I have three little sisters. This is _nothing_ compared to their arguing," Alya simply explained, rapidly taking pictures of the superheroes.

"Just be careful," Ladybug warned her.

Ladybug and Cat Noir searched the school for Echo.

"So where do you think the akuma is?" Ladybug asked.

"In the microphone," Cat Noir responded. "Alec's been the Slytherin Quidditch announcer for three years in a row. That microphone is practically _his._ "

"Chloe must've cheated her way into the position," Ladybug guessed.

"I'd like to _fur_ rect you, but you're _purr_ obably right," Cat Noir sighed.

"I have a feeling that Echo's going to be a tough one to defeat. But first things first, we have to find and protect Chloe," Ladybug said.

Cat Noir nodded.

"We should probably ask the Bloody Baron for directions to the Slytherin Common Room," she added.

 _She probably thinks that I'm in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor_ , Cat Noir thought. _Never in a million years would she think that I'm in Slytherin_.

"Excuse me, but do you know where the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room is?" Ladybug asked the Bloody Baron.

He simply unwrapped one of his semi-transparent chains and it floated away.

"I think we're supposed to follow it," Cat Noir whispered.

Even though the Bloody Baron was the Slytherin House ghost, he still scared him to pieces.

The superhero team followed the chain link until it vanished in front of a portrait of Merlin.

"We forgot to ask for the password!" Ladybug suddenly realized, slapping her forehead.

"Don't worry, I'll make an exception this time," Merlin reassured her.

His painting swung forward.

Ladybug and Cat Noir entered the Slytherin Common Room.

"MERLIN'S BEARD! LADYBUG'S IN _MY_ HOUSE!" Chloe squealed.

"I'm actually _not,_ " Ladybug denied.

"Then how did you know the password?" Chloe smugly asked, a triumphant expression on her face.

"Merlin let us in without the password," Cat Noir explained.

Chloe scowled.

"There's no time for this. Chloe, we have to save you from-"

Ladybug never had the chance to finish her sentence.

"CHLOE BOURGEOIS!" Echo screeched.

The couches in the room crashed into a wall, one of them narrowly missing the fireplace.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir yelled.

The couch that was about to hit Chloe crumbled into dust.

Echo screeched again.

Chloe collapsed into a dead faint.

Ladybug decided that it was time to summon her not-so-secret weapon.

"Lucky Charm!" she shouted.

Black earmuffs with a red band fell into her hands.

She slipped the earmuffs on and discovered that they blocked out all noise.

"Cat Noir, distract him!" Ladybug yelled at her partner.

He backflipped out of the Slytherin Common Room and hightailed it.

 _Literally_.

Echo chased him, shrieking as he ran.

Cat Noir held onto a door handle for dear life.

"Get his Miraculous!" Hawkmoth commanded his victim.

Echo was just about to grab Cat Noir's ring before a yo-yo wrapped around his microphone.

"NOOOOOOO!" Echo yelled in defeat as his microphone flew out of his hands and landed into Ladybug's.

She snapped it in half and purified the akuma.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" she said, throwing the microphone into the air.

Magic spread everywhere, restoring suits of armor and paintings.

Echo reverted back into Alec.

Ladybug and Cat Noir fist-bumped and helped Alec up.

Later, after Care of Magical Creatures (where Marinette and Adrien had to tame exceptionally grumpy Jarveys), the notice board was updated.

 _These are the results for the annual Q.A.C. (Quidditch Announcing Competition):_

 _Gryffindor Announcer- Emma Chimestoll_

 _Hufflepuff Announcer- Nino Lahiffe_

 _Ravenclaw Announcer- Mireille Caquet_

 _Slytherin Announcer- Alec Cataldi_

 _Chloe Bourgeois was immediately disqualified because she had cheated by using a Silencing Charm on Alec_.

 _Sincerely_ ,

 _Professor Caline Bustier_

"Ridiculous! Utterly _ridiculous!"_ Chloe scoffed.

"Serves you right for cheating," Emma grinned, giving Alec a fist bump.

"I can't believe it! _I'm_ the Hufflepuff Quidditch Announcer!" Nino cheered.

"Way to go, Nino!" Adrien laughed.

He waved Marinette and Alya over.

"Guess what? Nino won!"

"That's great! I'll ask Peeves if he can steal some cake for you," Alya winked.

"Already on it! Oooh, I can't _wait_ to see the look on Professor Whipwind's face when she discovers that I'm the one who stole her cake!" Peeves mischievously cackled, chucking Acid Pops at unsuspecting students.

 **…...**

 _Another Week Or So Later_

"What do you mean, chess is _normal?"_ Marinette blankly asked.

"Sorry, it's just a bit weird seeing something as ordinary as a chess club at a school for wizards and witches," Alya responded.

Max had recently started a chess club at Hogwarts and posted an advertisement on the notice board.

"Library. _Now,"_ Marinette said, shoving Alya into the library.

Marinette unpacked a chessboard with black-and-white porcelain pieces.

"I am going to teach you how to play chess," she simply explained.

"But I already know how-" Alya protested.

"Not just _any_ chess. _Wizard's_ Chess. Black or white?" Marinette asked.

"White," Alya replied.

The white pieces marched to Alya's side of the board.

"Woah," Alya gasped.

The black pieces marched to Marinette's side of the board.

"Just say the name of your piece, then say what position you want it to go to," Marinette instructed.

"Pawn on D2, move to D4," Alya said.

The pawn relocated itself.

"This isn't even the fun part. Knight on B8, move to C6," Marinette countered.

"Pawn on G2, move to G3," Alya shot back.

"Knight on C6, move to D4 and capture Alya's pawn," Marinette continued.

Marinette's knight galloped towards Alya's pawn and swung its sword like a baseball bat.

Alya's fragile porcelain pawn shattered and its remains were punted off of the chessboard by Marinette's knight.

"Does that always happen?" Alya asked, peeking from between her fingers.

"Of course it does," Marinette smiled.

Four minutes later, Marinette put Alya's king into checkmate.

Surprisingly, Alya won the next round.

The girls kept playing until Adrien arrived and reminded them that they had an essay on The Great Siren Revolt of 1593 due tomorrow for their History of Magic class.

Alya and Marinette used up four scrolls of parchment each and resumed their game of Wizard's Chess.

"Checkmate!" Alya smugly announced as her bishop smashed Marinette's queen into pieces.

 _ **…...**_

 _Yet Another Week Or So Later_

Everyone buzzed with anticipation as the first week of October arrived.

Today was Friday, the day that everyone was waiting for- Quidditch tryouts.

Both Gryffindor and Slytherin desperately needed a captain, because Julia Rodson, the Slytherin Quidditch Captain, and Troy Ashmore, the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, had graduated last year.

Marinette grabbed her Cleansweep 12 and dashed to the Quidditch pitch, where Professor D'Argencourt and a cluster of eighteen students, mostly first-years and four or five second-years, were waiting.

Marinette recognized most of the first-years.

Mylene, Ivan, Adrien, Kim, Alya, Juleka, and Alix were trying out for a position as well.

"Each team needs at least two new players," Professor D'Argencourt said. "Your house's team will be your judges. I am merely here to prevent any rows from breaking out and to make sure that the final decisions are unbiased. The Hufflepuff Quidditch team needs one Chaser and two Beaters. The Ravenclaw Quidditch team needs two Chasers and one Keeper. The Slytherin Quidditch team needs one Keeper and one Seeker, and one of them must be the captain. The Gryffindor Quidditch team needs one Chaser and one Seeker, and one of them must be the captain. Please announce what position you are trying out for when I call your name. Agreste, Adrien."

"Slytherin Seeker," Adrien said.

"Bruel, Ivan."

"Hufflepuff Beater."

"Cesaire, Alya."

"Ravenclaw Chaser."

"Couffaine, Juleka."

"Ravenclaw Chaser."

"Drellings, Will."

One of the second-years stepped up.

"Hufflepuff Chaser."

"Dupain-Cheng, Marinette."

"Gryffindor Seeker."

The list continued on and on and _on_.

Each student practiced their position and before they knew it, tryouts were over.

The next morning, nearly every student in Hogwarts practically shoved each other to check the notice board.

"It's six in the morning! It's Saturday, why are you all up at this ungodly hour?" Headmaster Fu asked, wearing a long night gown and an even longer nightcap.

A second-year simply pointed to the notice board.

"Ah, I see. The results of the Quidditch tryouts. I'll read them out loud for everyone to hear at breakfast. Until then, I will place a Disillusionment Charm on the note," Headmaster Fu said.

The students parted like the Red Sea as he walked up to the note and tapped it with his wand.

It seemed to vanish into thin air.

"Now, off to bed, all of you!" Headmaster Fu ordered.

Everyone trudged to their dorm and soon fell asleep.

At 9 o'clock, Headmaster Fu kept his promise.

"There are eight new additions to the Quidditch teams of Hogwarts," he announced. "From Ravenclaw, we have our new Keeper, Sam Knobel. We have two new Chasers as well- Juleka Couffaine and Alya Cesaire. Please stand up, you three. You've earned it."

Juleka, Alya, and a second-year boy with black hair and lots of freckles stood up, blushing furiously as they did so.

The students of Ravenclaw clapped loudly, Marinette joining in.

"From Hufflepuff, we have Lucas Morney as a new Chaser," Headmaster Fu continued. "We also have Ivan Bruel and Mylene Haprele as Beaters."

It was Hufflepuff's turn to burst into applause as Lucas (another first-year with brown hair and glasses), Ivan, and Mylene stood up.

"From Slytherin, Adrien Agreste is the new Seeker and Le Chien Kim is the new Keeper. He is also the captain," Headmaster Fu said.

Kim and Adrien stood up, Kim grinning with a victorious look on his face as the Slytherins cheered their names.

Heck, even Professor Agreste was clapping.

"Last, but not least," Headmaster Fu finished. "From Gryffindor, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is the new Seeker. Alix Kubdel is a Chaser. She is also the captain."

The Gryffindors were ecstatic and a thunderous applause filled the Great Hall.

Everyone cheered for their new Quidditch players.

"We're sure to win this year, Kim!"

"I can't believe I made the team!"

Alya and Marinette congratulated each other from their tables.

Ivan and Mylene, the new Hufflepuff Beaters, hugged each other.

Everyone happily finished their breakfast before retiring to their common rooms.

"Gryffindor Quidditch players, gather 'round!" Alix roared.

Six Gryffindors shuffled over to sit on couches that were positioned around a table.

"First off, we all need to know each other's names," Alix continued. "You already know me. I'm Alix Kubdel, a Chaser as well as the captain of this fine team. Chasers, please introduce yourselves."

"I'm Grace Edwards, second-year Chaser," a shy girl with red curls and brown eyes mumbled.

"I'm Jack Miller, third-year Chaser and a ladies' man who is currently _single,"_ a boy with spiky brown hair and gray eyes said, announcing the last part loudly while winking at a group of girls on the other side of the room.

"Pay no attention to my little brother. Henry Miller, fourth-year Beater," a boy who looked like a slightly older version of Jack said.

"I do suppose that any 'un o' us can interrupt the cap'n now. Me name's Lydia Brown, thid-yeah Keepah. Plesha to mate ya," a girl with a long black braid and startling green eyes said, shaking both Alix and Marinette's hands vigorously.

"Stop mimicking that awful accent," a boy with blue eyes and longish blond hair said, rolling his eyes.

He seemed highly offended, because unlike Lydia's accent, his British accent was real.

"I'm Jeffrey Hughes, second-year Beater."

"But my cabby accent is great!" Lydia complained, now accentless.

Everyone was now looking at Marinette.

"Oh! Right. I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng, first-year Seeker," she introduced herself.

"I'm glad to know that Grace and Jeffrey have a crush on each other," Alix blatantly said.

Grace blushed and hid her face under her massive curls.

"What?! I do _not_ \- we don't- how _dare_ you assume-" Jeffrey spluttered.

"Mmhmmm. _Suuure_. Don't think that I haven't noticed you two staring at each other the whole time. Second of all, let me see your brooms," Alix said, ignoring the fact that both Jeffrey and Grace's cheeks were as red as the latter's hair.

The other six members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team retrieved their brooms.

Grace and Marinette gently placed their Cleansweep 12's onto the table.

Jack was using his Quicksilver 360 to sword-fight with Lydia's Comet 290.

Henry, who had the same broom as his brother, told him to stop being so childish and Jeffrey stiffly held his Nimbus 2500 in his left fist.

"Prepare to die of shock. You ready? Too late. Look at _this_ beauty," Alix said, presenting _The Valkyrie_ to everyone.

"Summer Riskins, as in _thee_ Summer Riskins, was your mother?" Lydia gasped.

"Yeah, yeah, let's not go through this again. So I have an idea for a new play-"

Alix was interrupted by a wad of paper that suddenly landed on the table.

"Where'd _that_ come from?" Grace asked.

As if on cue, a horrible stench filled the air.

"It's a Dungbomb!" Marinette complained, pinching her nose.

Alix unwrapped the Dungbomb and threw it back out out of the Gryffindor Common Room, much to everyone's relief.

Alix then looked at the paper itself.

"What does it say?" Marinette asked, peering over her shoulder.

 _Alix, I dare you to race me. Be on the Quidditch field by 1:00 pm next Sunday. If I win, we switch brooms for the entire school year. If you win, I'll stop making dares for the rest of the school year. ~Kim_

"Wow, those stakes are pretty high," Jack whistled.

 **…...**

One Week And One Day Later

To everyone else, today was just another lazy Sunday lunch.

But Alix wasn't everyone.

"No way!" Alix gasped.

It was her birthday, and her father had just sent her what had to be the greatest birthday gift in the world.

"What are _you_ so happy about?" Marinette grinned.

Alix handed her a letter.

 _Dear Alix,_

 _Happy Birthday! Mom, Jalil, and I miss you very much. It's finally your fifteenth birthday, so it's time to give you an important family heirloom. You are now holding very first Time-Turner ever! Your grandfather (there are honestly too many greats to count), Leonardo Taylor, was the inventor of the Time-Turner. It does not work anymore, but it's still an amazing thing to have._

 _Love_ ,

 _Dad_

Alix showed Marinette what looked like a silver pocket watch with an hourglass in the middle.

"Isn't it great? I can't wait for the race, which is in….two minutes?! _Two_ _minutes?!_ C'mon, Marinette we have to run if we want to make it there on time!" Alix said, practically dragging her friend out if the Great Hall.

"Wait! I need to get my broom and my banner!" Marinette realized, smacking her head as she did.

She suddenly remembered the amount of staircases she would have to climb to get to her dorm.

"You're never going to make it there on time!" Tikki said.

"But _Ladybug_ can. Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said.

Ladybug used her yo-yo to swing to the Gryffindor Common Room.

The usual twenty-minute walk was reduced to ten seconds.

Ladybug grabbed a banner that she had painted yesterday and her broom and made it to the Quidditch pitch just in time.

Everyone else was already there, mounted on their brooms.

The race was going to be only fifteen feet off of the ground, so those who were watching the race spectated from their brooms instead of the stands.

Ladybug detransformed, mounted her broom, and unveiled her banner.

"Impressive, Marinette!" Adrien winked, sitting on his Quicksilver 360.

Marinette blushed and giggled.

"I'm gonna leave you in the dust! Your Quick _snail_ 360 is no match for me!" Alix jeered.

"As if! You're going down, Tinkerbell!" Kim taunted.

"Excuse me, but I will _not_ allow fighting before the race!" Max interrupted, flying up on a Shooting Star. "Let's go over the rules. Three laps around the field, and the first one to cross the finish line-" (he created a golden ribbon with his wand) "-is the victor! If Kim triumphs, he and Alix will switch brooms for the rest of the school year. If Alix triumphs, Kim will be prohibited from making another dare for the rest of the school year."

"Let's go, Alix!" Juleka cheered.

"You got this!" Ivan encouraged Alix.

"No more dares! No more dares! No more dares!" Nathaniel chanted.

"On your marks, get set…." Max said.

"Hold up!" Alix interrupted.

Kim, who had been so readily poised, suddenly leaned forward a bit too much and his broomstick jerked downwards so that the bristles were facing the sky and the tip was facing the ground.

Kim quickly put himself back into a racing stance.

"What's the matter, Alix? Are you too much of a Diricawl to race?" Kim laughed.

"Hold on to this for me, will ya, Alya? I don't want to drop it during the race," Alix said, handing her Time-Turner to the Ravenclaw Chaser.

"But I can't, girl, I have to-" Alya protested.

"Guard it with your life! It's a family heirloom!" Alix replied.

"Marinette, hold this. I have to take pictures of the race for the _Hogwarts Weekly,"_ Alya said, giving the Time-Turner to her best friend.

"On your marks, get set, GO!" Max yelled.

"But I have to hold the banner!" Marinette argued. "Anyway, Alix asked _you_ to hold-"

Suddenly, the Time-Turner slipped out of her hands.

Adrien dove beneath her and caught it.

"Need any help?" he grinned.

"Umm, no! I mean yes! Thank you! You always gotta be careful, even if you _are_ amazing…..." Marinette stuttered.

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"At catching things! Yeah, you're amazing at catching things. Which is why you're the Seeker for Slytherin," Marinette blurted.

"Last lap!" Max announced.

"Amazing at _catching things?"_ Alya snickered to Marinette.

"Hey Adrikins, whatcha got there? An old watch or something?" Chloe asked, taking the Time-Turner from Adrien's hands.

"Be careful, it's Alix's!" Adrien warned her.

"If it's Alix's it's probably worthless," Chloe scoffed.

"Give it back to Adrien," Marinette frowned.

Chloe opened the watch and immediately saw that it was a Time-Turner.

She gasped with surprise and dropped it.

Meanwhile, Alix was nearing the finish line, with Kim not far behind.

The tip of _The Valkyrie_ crashed into the Time-Turner.

Alix crossed the finish line and the golden ribbon that Max had conjured disappeared.

"Ha! I won!" Alix cheered, but then she noticed her Time-Turner speared on the tip of her broom.

"I call a rematch!" Kim shouted. "That false start from earlier messed up my whole pre-race technique!"

Alix gently removed her broken Time-Turner from her broom.

It now had a large hole in the middle.

"Did you do this?" Alix asked her friends, her voice shaking.

"Well, I had to take pictures so I gave the Time-Turner to Marinette, who dropped it, but then Adrien caught it. Chloe took it from Adrien and then _she_ dropped it," Alya hesitantly explained.

"As if! I had _nothing_ to do with this," Chloe lied.

"That was a one-of-a-kind Time-Turner! The first one _ever!_ My dad gave it to me for my birthday! You're all to blame!" Alix yelled, flying away on The Valkyrie.

"Alix, wait!" Marinette said, chasing after her friend.

 **…...**

"You won the race, but your so-called friends broke something you love," Hawkmoth cackled. "Then I guess we'll just have to go back in time to save it."

He pointed his cane-like wand at a butterfly.

"Akuma Kedavra!"

The poisoned butterfly flew away, searching for Alix.

The akuma landed on _The Valkyrie_.

"Timebreaker, you can go back in time to save your Time-Turner, but only if you give me Cat Noir and Ladybug's Miraculouses," Hawkmoth said.

"You got it, Hawkmoth!" Alix maliciously smiled.

Dark magic spread over her.

 **…...**

"Poor Alix. That Time-Turner was a gift from her dad," Marinette sighed.

Suddenly, a black and green blur touched Kim and he faded away.

His broom lifelessly fell onto the grass.

"What the-?" Marinette asked.

The blur stopped and Marinette saw who had made Kim disappear.

Alix had been akumatized.

Her robes were black and neon green with a red hourglass design on the chest.

She had black spandex tights and bright green boots.

She wore black-rimmed flying goggles with green lenses.

The Valkyrie was different as well; it had turned completely black and had a neon green band tied around the bristles.

Its neat, gold inscription had turned into a crude green scrawl.

"Alix, what are you doing?!" Marinette yelled.

"The name's _Timebreaker_ now," Timebreaker corrected her. "And I'm gonna get my Time-Turner back, using all of you jerks to do it!"

"How? What did you do to Kim? Why did he fade away?" Marinette continued.

"I needed his energy," Timebreaker shrugged. "Besides, he was already a pain in the you-know-what with all those stupid bets. He deserved to disappear forever. And so do _you!"_

Timebreaker rushed at Marinette, but the latter threw the banner at the former.

While Timebreaker was distracted, Marinette leaned forward on her broom and dived into the stands.

"Tikki, I can't transform! What if someone recognizes my broom?" Marinette asked her kwami.

"Trust me, they won't. You'll see," Tikki said.

"I'm taking your lead on this one. Tikki, spots on!" Marinette whispered.

Ladybug looked at her Cleansweep 12…...….which was no longer a Cleansweep 12.

Her broom's bristles were black, and the handle was red with black spots.

Ladybug mounted her broom and kicked off to fight Timebreaker.

Timebreaker had crashed into another section of the stands.

"Rose, help me!" she weakly groaned.

"Don't!" Ladybug shouted, but she was too late.

Rose faded away.

"Ha! Sweet Rose, always thinking of others before herself," Timebreaker laughed.

She looked at her broom, on which two words were magically engraving themselves: _1 Minute_.

"Where is that cat?" Ladybug muttered under her breath.

Meanwhile, Adrien was on the opposite side of the stands.

"Someone's gonna figure out my identity when they see my broom! What am I going to do?" Adrien asked.

"Quit worrying, kid. You'll see what happens to your broom when you transform," Plagg smirked.

"Alright. Plagg, claws out!" Adrien whispered.

Cat Noir gasped when he saw his Quicksilver 360.

The black handle had a pattern of bright green paw prints.

The bristles, which were also black, was tipped with bright green paint.

A long black ribbon was tied around the bristles, one end loose and being whipped around by the wind.

 _Thank you, Plagg_ , Cat Noir thought as he mounted his broom.

He zoomed onto the Quidditch field, where Timebreaker was chasing Mylene.

Mylene's Nimbus 2500 was fast, but not quick enough.

Timebreaker touched Mylene and she disappeared, her broom falling to the ground.

The inscription on Timebreaker's broom handle now read _1 ½ Minutes_.

She dashed after Cat Noir, who narrowly dodged her.

"Let me guess. We're all playing a game of tag and you're it?" Cat Noir smirked.

"Exactly!" Timebreaker responded.

"Don't let her touch you!" Ladybug warned her partner.

Cat Noir dodged Timebreaker again, doing a loop-the-loop on his broom.

"Missed me! Just a second too late," he grinned.

Timebreaker touched Alya, and her Comet 290 clattered into the stands.

"Well, she wastes no time, doesn't she?" Cat Noir mused.

"The more people she freezes, the more minutes she gets in the last! We have to save those poor kids!" Ladybug said.

She pulled Timebreaker back with her yo-yo just as she was about to touch Ivan.

"Hey! Watch it!" Timebreaker protested.

"Get Ladybug's earrings! Her Miraculous!" Hawkmoth commanded.

She made a grab for Ladybug's Miraculous, but Cat Noir flew in front of her.

He faded away.

"Noooo!" Ladybug shouted, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Wow! Six minutes in one go! Must've been those nine lives," Timebreaker said, looking at the green inscription on her broom's handle. "Gotta go! The past is waiting!"

"Get Cat Noir's Miraculous before it disappears!" Hawkmoth yelled.

"Go ahead and try!" Ladybug shouted.

"Calm down, Hawkmoth. I've got a great plan," Timebreaker said.

She suddenly started zooming around in circles.

Ladybug threw her yo-yo around her waist, her broom launching forward.

Timebreaker and Ladybug disappeared in a flash of green light.

"Woah, what just happened?" Ladybug asked herself. "Did we- did we just go back in time?"

She was still mounted on her broom, but she was about thirty feet above the crowd.

"Hey Adrikins, whatcha got there? An old watch or something?" Chloe asked.

"Be careful, it's Alix's!" Adrien said.

"Chloe, give the watch back to Adrien!" Ladybug shouted.

"Ladybug!" Chloe squealed, throwing her hands up into the air.

The watch speared onto Alix's broom for the second time.

"Dang it! I need to go further back in time!" Timebreaker cursed.

"Ladybug, this is all your fault!" Alix cried.

"This seems interesting," Hawkmoth grinned. "Do I suddenly see double vision? Or should I say double _villain?"_

"Akuma Kedavra!" he shouted.

An akuma flew out of the window and landed on Alix's broom.

"I'm feeling an odd sense of deja vu, but I'll join your cause, Hawkmoth," Alix consented.

"Perfect," Hawkmoth grinned.

Meanwhile, in the stands, both Marinette and Adrien were preparing to transform.

But this time, Marinette's situation was a bit different.

"Who are _you?"_ she demanded, staring at Ladybug.

"There's really no time to explain, but I'm you. From the future," Ladybug said.

"She's telling the truth! I can feel it!" Tikki said.

"That's so cool!" Marinette gasped.

"I'll go fight while you- I mean I- or you- transform," Ladybug stuttered.

She flew off towards Cat Noir.

"The akuma is in her broom! We have to catch it. Your life depends on it!" Ladybug said.

"Which life? I've got nine," Cat Noir grinned.

"I'm serious," Ladybug added.

Cat Noir's green eyes suddenly squinted.

"Am I seeing double?" he asked.

There were now two Timebreakers.

"That's another thing that I don't have time to explain," Ladybug sighed.

"With the energy from those two, we'll have as many minutes as we want!" the first Timebreaker said.

"I want my Time-Turner back! Let's do it," the second Timebreaker agreed.

"But they're _fast_. Let's stock up on energy from the others first," Original-Timebreaker said.

Soon, the Timebreakers decided that they had enough energy and started chasing Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Just as one of the Timebreakers was about to touch Ladybug, a yo-yo pulled her broom back.

"Need a hand?" a second Ladybug asked.

"Thanks!" the original Ladybug smiled.

Second-Ladybug flew over to the superheroes.

"They're insane on their brooms," she said.

"Which is why we need to _steal_ those brooms," Original-Ladybug responded.

"Two Ladybugs? I'm in heaven!" Cat Noir said as he pretended to faint.

Both Ladybugs rolled their eyes.

"We need to go back in time again. There'll be less of them!" Original-Timebreaker said.

"They're going to go back in time again!" Original-Ladybug shouted.

The Ladybugs each used their Lucky Charm.

A red-and-black-spotted Bludger landed in Second-Ladybug's hands and a matching bat landed in the other one's.

"Do you know what I'm thinking?" Second-Ladybug asked.

"Of course!" Original-Ladybug replied.

"While you figure out your plan, I'll make sure they they don't touch anyone else," Cat Noir said, racing towards the Quidditch hoops.

"Cataclysm!" he yelled.

He touched one of the golden Quidditch hoops, which rusted over and nearly crushed the Timebreakers.

Their time-travelling process had been interrupted.

A yo-yo wrapped around their brooms.

Second-Ladybug, who had thrown the yo-yo, threw the Bludger at Original-Ladybug.

She swung the bat at the Bludger, which hurled through the air and hit the Timebreakers off of their brooms.

Cat Noir caught the villains while the Ladybugs snapped the akumatized brooms and purified the akumas.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" they shouted in sync, throwing their Lucky Charms into the air.

They turned into one Ladybug, the Quidditch hoop restored itself, and the Timebreakers turned into a single, unakumatized Alix.

"Here, I think this is yours," Ladybug said, dismounting from her broom.

She gave Alix her Time-Turner.

"Thank you!" Alix breathlessly gasped.

"It's such a shame. I was getting used to having two Ladybugs around," Cat Noir sighed.

"And now you'll get used to having no Ladybugs around," his partner smirked.

"Wait! How'd you fix my Time-Turner?" Alix asked.

"Magic," Ladybug winked, and swung away with her yo-yo.

And, in a way, she was correct.

 **…...**

 **As I promised, I'm going to explain my prolonged absence. My schedule has just become extremely hectic. I've also been writing six (yes, six!) Valentine's Day one-shots, and I still have three more to go. (It's going to be called** ** _An Armada of Ships_** **, for those of you who want to read it.) I've also been working on fanart for this fanfic. And right now, I really should be studying for exams. Stay tuned, OTPeople!**


	6. An Unhealthy Butterbeer Addiction

**I'm back, OTPeople! I'm currently rereading the entire Harry Potter series just to improve this fanfic. I'm reading** ** _The Deathly Hallows_** **while writing this chapter, actually. I'm changing the prefect rules. Each grade (first-year, second-year, etc) can be represented by a prefect from any house. So it can be four Hufflepuffs, or a Ravenclaw and three Slytherins, and so forth. That's the only the whole 'class representative scenario' with Chloe and Marinette can work. I suppose I should also mention that Mr. Damocles is the librarian on Friday afternoons, Saturdays, and Sundays. On weekdays, the library is managed by someone else. This chapter will include Darkwand, Hogsmeade, the akumatized version of Juleka (it's not going to be Reflekta), and a cliffhanger! Ah, yes, enough filler. This will be the last filler-ish chapter, I swear. The next chapter will involve a Quidditch game, a mysterious new student, and…...a rival Wizarding school. But enough spoilers. On with the story!**

 **…...**

 ** _Chapter 5: An Unhealthy Butterbeer Addiction_**

"I forgot to add a dash of moonstone!" Alya panicked, looking at the contents of her cauldron.

Instead of the turquoise color that her Draught of Peace was supposed to be, it was a strange shade of lavender.

"Dump it in before Professor Mendeleiev notices!" Marinette whispered.

Alya quickly poured some silvery-blue powder into her cauldron and stirred it.

" _Counter_ clockwise!" Marinette corrected her.

Alya stirred her potion in the opposite direction.

The bubbling lavender liquid turned a bluish-green color.

"That was a close one," Alya sighed with relief.

 _Poof!_

Pink mist rose out of Kim's Draught of Peace.

"I _told_ you to ground your porcupine quills into adequate pieces, but did you listen?! _No_!" Max shrieked.

"Max, what's the matter?" Professor Mendeleiev asked.

Max pointed to Kim's head.

Or rather, the space where Kim's head normally was.

"You made your head invisible? Again?" Professor Mendeleiev deadpanned.

"Yes," Kim sheepishly answered.

"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Professor Mendeleiev sighed.

Kim's headless body walked out of the dungeons.

Marinette and Alya, who had already completed their Draughts of Peace, quickly became bored.

"I have an idea," Alya whispered. "Try to find the weirdest-looking Draught of Peace in this room."

Marinette surveyed the cauldrons.

It looked like each person was brewing a different potion.

The substance in Nathaniel's cauldron was thick, brown, and emitting orange and blue sparks.

He huddled over his potion and attempted to fix it.

Mylene's potion was bright yellow, and she was currently using way more hellebore syrup than necessary to make her Draught of Peace turquoise again.

Adrien's potion was exemplary and produced a cloud of silver vapor, unlike Nino's, which had black smoke wafting from it.

Rose and Juleka kept on shoving the potion components toward each other, saying things like " _You_ can have the moonstone dust, I'll wait" and "Go ahead and use the stirring spoon, no, _you_ deserve to go first" until both potions had nearly evaporated from the significant lack of ingredients.

Chloe's potion was the worst of all.

It was a murky gray color and had a whirlpool in the center that was sucking in every ingredient she added.

"I think Chloe's Draught of Peace might have _teeth_ ," Marinette shuddered.

"Nope. Those are definitely tentacles," Alya said.

"Sabrina, help me!" Chloe whispered.

"Alright, where did you go wrong?" Sabrina asked.

"Step one," Chloe responded.

Sabrina sighed and made Chloe's Draught of Peace disappear with a Vanishing Spell.

Chloe brewed a new potion, and although it was neon blue, at least it didn't have tentacles.

"Please pour your Draught of Peace into a vial and mark it with your name. Then place it on my desk," Professor Mendeleiev said.

Most of the students had gotten the Draught of Peace right, but each potion was a different shade of blue or green.

"Your homework is to write a three-scroll essay on how Gregory's Unctuous Unction was first discovered and the vital mistake that was made in developing the recipe," Professor Mendeleiev continued. "Class dismissed!"

The students left the dungeons, grumbling about their homework as they walked to the Great Hall for lunch.

"I can't _believe_ how much homework we have!" Nino complained. "We have the Potions essay, Herbology research on Puffapods, _and_ we have to practice the Unlocking Charm for Charms!"

"That's easy for _you_ to say. I have modelling and Quidditch practice later," Adrien sighed. "And you forgot to mention that we have to be able to turn a teapot into a turtle by 2:15."

"Do you think that Professor Damocles will notice if my turtle still has a spout for a tail?" Alya asked.

"Don't worry, mine has a floral print on its shell," Marinette giggled.

"Mine still breathes steam!" Adrien added.

"At least yours doesn't have Earl Gray tea in its mouth instead of spit," Nino grumbled.

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows. "How do know that it's Earl-"

"Don't ask," Nino ordered.

"As your friends, it's our duty to be nosy. What happened?" Alya questioned him.

"If you really _must_ know, then I'll tell you. My turtle spat in my face the last Transfiguration lesson," Nino said.

Marinette and Adrien burst into laughter.

"Anyway, it's time for us to split apart again. To separate into four houses, never to speak to each other again," Alya dramatically said.

"It's only an hour, you'll get over it," Nino snickered.

"Who are you, Quakelance?" Marinette grinned.

"Who?" Alya blankly asked.

"Y'know, the Muggle poet. He wrote _A Midspring Night's Dream_ ," Marinette explained.

"I think you meant Shakespeare," Alya laughed. "And it's Mid _summer_ , not Midspring."

"Oh," Marinette blushed.

"Don't worry, we all make mistakes like that," Adrien reassured her. "I honestly thought Attila the Hun was Nutella the Hun until last year."

"Really?" Alya laughed.

"How am I supposed to know about Muggle history?" Adrien retorted. "I know the basics. I can name some of the most famous Muggle rulers on earth. Like the first American present-dance, George Washingtub."

"First of all, it's _presidents_ ," Alya snorted. "Second of all, it's George Washing _ton_."

"Winston Chapelhill," Adrien tried.

"Winston Churchill," Marinette piped up.

"Rudolph Wittler?" Adrien guessed.

"Even I know this one. It's Adolf Hitler," Nino chuckled. "Dude, you should really start taking Muggle Studies."

"I don't need to!" Adrien protested as Chloe walked up to them, accusing Nino, Alya, and Marinette of "brainwashing her poor Adrikins to hang out with Muggle-obsessed hooligans," and promptly dragged him towards the Slytherin table.

The remaining three each joined their house's table and tucked into a hearty meal that consisted of soups and sandwiches and whatnot.

"Time for Transfiguration," Nino mumbled as they headed to Professor Damocles' classroom. " _Whoopee_."

"It's not _that_ bad," Adrien hastily said. "Plus, I think we're going to turn frogs into rocks or something like that."

He was partially correct.

"Today, we will review turning teapots into turtles. Then, you will Transfigure toads into rocks," Professor Damocles announced. "Those of you who succeed will turn teddy bears into bear cubs."

Everyone demonstrated what they had learned the last lesson (Nino's turtle had camomile phlegm this time) and began turning toads into rocks.

Marinette's rock croaked whenever she jabbed it with her wand and Adrien's rock was covered in warts.

Ivan had not fully Transfigured his toad; his rock, which still had toad legs, hopped around the classroom.

About nine students moved onto turning teddy bears into bear cubs.

Alya's bear's stomach was still made out of carpet-like material.

Sabrina's bear squeaked whenever she pressed its paws.

Kim, who had just returned from the hospital wing, had Transfigured his bear perfectly- except for the fact that its mouth was made of pink thread.

"Class dismissed!" Professor Damocles said.

"Charms, right?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah," Marinette nodded.

"Did you hear about the competition for first-year prefect? I would nominate myself, but….." Alya's sentence trailed off as she gestured to Chloe. "And I have my newspaper, which is already enough for me to deal with."

"What about everyone else? Chloe can't be the only one who wants to be the first-year prefect," Marinette thought out loud.

"Chloe threatened to tell everyone about my extreme fear of Acromantulas," Kim said.

"Chloe said that she would find a way to steal my scrapbook," Rose sighed.

"I honestly don't care about all this prefect junk," Alix shrugged.

"What about you, Marinette? You would be a great first-year prefect," Ivan suggested.

"I'll think about it," Marinette said, biting her lip.

She already had so many responsibilities, and she really didn't want to add 'first-year prefect' to that list.

"Today, we are going to begin a competition," Professor Bustier said. "We will vote on the first-year prefect for Hogwarts. They can be from any house. Raise your hand if you want to participate."

Chloe raised her hand.

Kim was about to raise his hand too, but a deathly glare from Chloe made him put his hand back down.

"Anyone else?" Professor Bustier asked. "Okay, Chloe, since there's no one else-"

"I'll run! For first-year prefect," Marinette blurted.

"Wonderful. Chloe and Marinette, prepare your speeches for tomorrow. Good luck!" Professor Bustier grinned.

After practicing the Mending Charm many times (Alix and Kim really enjoyed breaking things so the others could fix them), Charms was over.

"How are you going to win, Chloe?" Sabrina whispered.

"By getting rid of the opponent first. Get some dirt on Marinette. Perhaps her diary?" Chloe evilly smirked. "The Gryffindor password is 'velvet cushion,' by the way."

Sabrina's head jerked up and down and she walked towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Good job, Marinette! I'm definitely voting for you," Juleka smiled.

"So am I!" Rose added.

"Yeah, you're really brave to run against Chloe!" Kim said, patting Marinette on the back.

"You have a very high chance of winning. Approximately 86% of Hogwarts prefers you over Chloe," Max said.

After everyone had congratulated Marinette, only she, Alya, Adrien, and Nino were left in the hallway.

Adrien checked his watch.

"I have about an hour until Quidditch practice," he announced.

"Do you want to check up on our owls or something?" Marinette suggested.

"I'd rather not. My owl, Meteor, got diarrhea," Nino shuddered.

"Maybe the library, then," Alya advised.

"That sounds good," Marinette agreed.

The four students headed to the library, where the twenty-three-year-old part-time librarian, Juliet Wicker, showed them the new edition of the Daily Prophet.

"That'll be three Knuts," she said, handing them the newspaper.

"Chloe's father won the election," Adrien said, dropping three coins on the table.

"He's still the Minister of Magic, huh?" Nino mused.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt. Professor D'Argencourt wanted the spot, but errrrrrr…..he didn't exactly have a great amount of supporters," Marinette winced.

Alya whistled.

"97% to 3%. _Wow_ ," she said. "The very definition of landslide. And it says here that he had the least amount of votes in the entire history of the Ministry of Magic."

"And according to this article, Mr. Bourgeois is going to arrive at Hogwarts today to make a speech," Adrien added.

Suddenly, Professor D'Argencourt stormed into the library, followed by a dozen Daily Prophet reporters.

"This is a library! Be quiet or leave!" Juliet yelled, but her voice was no match for the amount of noise the reporters were making.

"So, Mr. D'Argencourt, how do you feel about your painful defeat?"

"More importantly, how is your current relationship with the re-elected Minister of Magic, Andre Bourgeois?"

"Do you think that the election was rigged? Did someone tamper with the results?"

"Are the rumours about your romantic infatuation with your colleague Darlene Mendeleiev true?"

"GO AWAY!" Professor D'Argencourt roared. " _I_ deserved to win the election! It was rigged! My ancestor was Merlin himself, the greatest wizard of all time! He even invented the Conquering Spell! Everyone adored _him_! But there's no respect for _me_ , no, none at all!"

The reporters furiously scribbled away in their notebooks.

Marinette noticed that some of them were using very unreliable Quick-Quotes Quills, the preferred writing utensil of Rita Skeeter.

"Yes, yes, go on! The public will love this!" a young reporter muttered to himself, twisting Professor D'Argencourt's words as much as possible so that it seemed like the loser of the election was now declaring war on the whole Ministry of Magic.

"Wait! Andre Bourgeois is at Hogwarts right now!" another reporter announced, sprinting into the library and nearly crashing into a flying book.

"Where?" the reporters asked.

"I am done with this utter nonsense!" Professor D'Argencourt yelled, running out of the library.

 **…...…...**

"Such a shame. No sympathy for Armand. I didn't vote for him either. But soon, even Andre will be bowing down to him!" Hawkmoth cackled. "And speaking of which, I heard that Andre will be arriving at Hogwarts right about now."

He pointed his wand at a butterfly.

"Akuma Kedavra!"

The akuma flew out of the window fluttered around the Hogwarts campus.

Armand D'Argencourt was walking by the lake to clear his mind.

The akuma landed on his wand.

"Darkwand, you can easily conquer the Ministry of Magic, but let's start with Hogwarts first. Everyone respects Merlin, but nobody respects you. With my help, you can be more powerful than your famous ancestor! Your adversary is pacing in the castle as we speak. But more importantly, I need something else that resides at Hogwarts: Cat Noir and Ladybug's Miraculouses," Hawkmoth grinned.

"They're going to pay," Armand muttered, the akuma's dark magic spreading over him.

His robes were black and adorned with a pattern of metallic blood-red crescents and stars.

He had a pointy cone-shaped wizard's cap with the same pattern.

His black hair had grown out and and the stubble on his chin grew into a black beard that was nearly three feet long, much like Merlin's.

His wand was black and crooked, like a charred, twisted twig.

Darkwand used the Conquering Spell on a group of students.

"Eversione!"

Their robes changed into ones exactly like his, except that their robes' crescents and stars were light green.

They marched into a perfect formation of wizards and faced Darkwand, prepared for any orders.

"Storm Hogwarts castle!" Darkwand commanded them.

His wizard army marched towards Hogwarts, their wands waving threateningly.

 **…...**

"What?!" Marinette shouted.

"I know! I can't believe that Chloe's using Jagged Stone to get votes! He's in the Great Hall right now!" Alya groaned.

"Well, he _is_ the most popular guitarist in the Wizarding World," Nino added. "Your speech has to be really good if you want to beat Chloe."

"I'm going to stop her from buying votes," Marinette said.

A second-year Slytherin girl ran into the library.

"Adrien!" Aurore Beaureal, one of the Beaters for the Slytherin Quidditch team, shouted.

"What?" Adrien asked.

"Kim cancelled Quidditch practice because of the new akuma!" Aurore frustratedly responded. "And I really wanted to try that new dive, too. Hey, what's that?"

Aurore, Juliet, Marinette, Alya, Adrien, and Nino looked outside a window.

Sure enough, there was Darkwand, using some sort of spell to launch his wizard soldiers in the air, trying to make them crash through the windows.

The rest of the soldiers were close to breaking down the main door to Hogwarts.

"Professor D'Argencourt! Argh, I should've known!" Marinette said. "We have to barricade the school to keep him from getting to Chloe's father."

Everyone except for Adrien left the library.

"A new akuma?" Plagg sighed.

"Yeah. Plagg, claws out!" Adrien shouted.

Cat Noir pole-vaulted through a window.

 **…...**

Most of the students were in the Great Hall because of Jagged Stone, who was currently signing autographs for everyone.

"And remember, if you vote for me, you'll get free tickets for Jagged Stone's next concert!" Chloe said through an enchanted megaphone.

Her father stood beside her, smiling at the students.

"Hey! Everybody! We need to protect Hogwarts from an akumatized villain!" Marinette yelled, but nobody heard her.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to be heard," Alya said. "I learned this one from _Quidditch Through The Ages."_

She pointed her wand at Marinette's throat.

"Sonorus!"

"What did you do to her?" Nino asked.

"Just say what you were trying to say," Alya winked.

"Everyone, we need to barricade Hogwarts! Professor D'Argencourt has been akumatized and he wants revenge on Mr. Bourgeois," Marinette calmly said, her amplified voice echoing throughout the Great Hall.

The students stopped what they were doing and looked at Marinette.

"We need to shut all the windows and barricade the door," she continued.

"Now, _that's_ a real prefect! Instead of someone who tries to buy our votes with concert tickets!" Alya loudly said.

"Well, that's what _I_ was about to say! Barricade the doors!" Chloe shouted.

Alya pointed her wand at Marinette's throat again and used a Quietening Charm.

Suddenly, a trumpet fanfare reached the students' ears.

"Andre, thee mayst approacheth!" Darkwand roared.

"What?" Mr. Bourgeois asked.

"You better go see what that pathetic wizard wants," Chloe scoffed.

Her father, Alya, Marinette, Rose, and Kim slowly opened the door.

"Bourgeois, pathetic knave, come forth and do battle!" Darkwand yelled.

"What does he mean?" Mr. Bourgeois whispered.

"Basically, he wants to bust you up," Alya summarized.

"Errr…..try again tomorrow!" Mr. Bourgeois nervously said.

He slammed the door shut.

Meanwhile, most of the students were watching Cat Noir fight against Darkwand's army.

He used his metal stick to deflect incoming hexes and used their Stunning Spells against them.

"That was a nice warm up," Cat Noir grinned.

And then…

He dabbed.

Nobody said anything.

After a second of silence, everyone in Hogwarts either facepalmed or cheered.

"This is definitely going in _The Ladybulletin_ ," Alya laughed.

Marinette sighed.

"Mine ancestor's crest shalt flourish above thy school!" Darkwand declared.

He waved a black banner with the Mark of Merlin, a silver wand crossed with a gruesome red-tipped sword.

Jagged Stone, who had no idea whatsoever what akumas were, stepped outside.

"Crazed fans, calm down! There's no need to fight over autographs!" he said.

"Behold, a minstrel!" Darkwand cackled.

He jabbed his wand in Jagged Stone's direction.

"Eversione!"

Jagged Stone turned into another member of Darkwand's army.

"What are you waiting for? Barricade Hogwarts!" Marinette shouted.

Students Summoned desks and chairs to block the door.

"You need to transform!" Tikki whispered.

Marinette squeezed her way through the crowd and ran up a staircase so that she was a floor above the other students.

"Tikki, spots on!" she shouted.

Ladybug looked out of the window and saw that the wizard soldiers were closing in on Cat Noir.

Her yo-yo dropped down and Cat Noir saluted them.

He pulled on the yo-yo and crashed into Hogwarts, landing on his head.

"I was doing _purr_ fectly okay on my own. But it's always nice to see _mew_ around," Cat Noir shrugged, leaping into a standing position.

"Formation for attack!" Darkwand yelled.

The wizards scrambled into place and fired spells at the door, trying to burn, cut, and blast it open.

Ladybug and Cat Noir jumped into the crowd of wizards and stole half of their wands in one fell swoop.

"Thou curseth thee, Bourgeois, and thy colorful acrobats!" Darkwand snarled.

He launched more of his wizards into the air.

"What exactly are they trying to do?" Cat Noir asked.

"They're trying to get to the flag!" Ladybug said.

On top of the Main Tower, a flag bearing the crest of Hogwarts billowed in the wind.

Darkwand used a spell on himself.

"Tally ho!" he cheered, flying towards the flag with Merlin's banner in his hand. "Once thy crest is supplanted by mine coat of arms, thou shalt reign supreme!"

Darkwand burned Hogwarts' flag and replaced it with his own.

A circle of dark magic appeared around Hogwarts and started to close in.

Ladybug and Cat Noir yo-yoed and pole-vaulted towards Darkwand.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted.

A red, black-spotted, vibrating thumb tack fell into her hands.

She couldn't help but laugh; she was forced to.

Her Lucky Charm was a new product from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes- Tickling Tacks, thumb tacks that had been hexed with the Tickling Charm.

Ladybug threw the Tickling Tack at Darkwand.

He started laughing uncontrollably and accidentally let go of his wand.

It soared into the air until Cat Noir caught it and tossed it to Ladybug, who snapped it in half.

She purified the akuma and threw the Tickling Tack towards the sky.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

Darkwand and his army turned back into their normal selves.

Ladybug and Cat Noir fist-bumped.

They detransformed and entered Hogwarts.

"Where were _you_ the whole time?" Chloe sneered at Marinette. "Safely hiding in a closet, I presume?"

"I was turned into a dark wizard, thank you very much," Marinette replied.

"So was I! It was a _hex_ perience that I would never _wand_ to happen again," Adrien added.

"Wizard puns?" Nino sighed.

"Chloe! Please help me!" Sabrina whimpered, covered in boils and some sort of slime.

Her hair was twenty times as long.

"What happened?" Chloe gagged. "You look _awful_!"

"It bit me!" Sabrina whined, waving a small pink book that had its teeth clamped around her right hand.

"That's my diary!" Marinette gasped.

"Merlin's beard! How many times did you curse and hex your diary?" Alya amusedly asked.

"Too many times to count," Marinette simply responded.

She tapped her diary with her wand and its teeth disappeared.

"Thank you!" Sabrina said.

"You should probably go see Madam Pomfrey," Alya suggested.

Sabrina ran to the hospital wing as quickly as possible.

"I would like to know why you hired Sabrina to steal my diary," Marinette frowned.

"What? Me? Of course not! It was _her_ idea, I was completely against it!" Chloe scoffed.

"Suuuuure," Alya said. "But how could Sabrina possibly know the password to the Gryffindor Common Room? Unless _you_ told her."

"I….I…...I…..I'm completely done with this prefect business anyway! Go ahead and have Maritrash as your first-year prefect! I bet no one's going to vote for her anyway!" Chloe yelled.

"OKAY, RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE GOING TO VOTE FOR MARINETTE!" Alya bellowed.

Every hand except Chloe's went up.

"Well, that settles it," Alya said.

The day later, the official results of the election came.

Marinette, a fourth-year Slytherin girl and two Ravenclaw boys were voted as prefects.

But that news was overshadowed by a new announcement on the notice board.

 _The first Hogsmeade trip will be on October 23rd. ~Headmaster Fu_

"That's only a week from now!" Nino smiled. "I'm glad they changed the stupid permission slip rule, or else my mom wouldn't have signed it because of W.W.W."

"Who's W.W.W.?" Alya asked. "Are they an evil witch or wizard?"

"W.W.W. isn't a who. It's a what. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the best joke shop of all time. I've bought one of almost every product. Except the love potions and Muggle magic tricks," Adrien explained. "Don't tell my father, though. He would have a heart attack if he knew how many Extendable Ears I've bought."

"A joke shop?" Alya deviously grinned. "And love potions, you say? Hey Marinette, do you-"

"I am _not_ going to use a love potion on anyone! Buy a bottle if you want to, but I'm not touching that stuff!" Marinette said, blushing furiously.

The week leading up to October 23rd seemed to go by as fast as a Golden Snitch.

The air was rather cold and the students bundled up in earmuffs, hats, scarves, mittens and gloves of the four houses' colors.

Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Nino met up at Hogwarts' main door, the same one that had been barricaded with desks and chairs not so long ago.

"Where should we go first?" Alya asked, unfolding a map of Hogsmeade that was previously tucked in her blue and bronze scarf.

"Wow, you came prepared," Marinette mused. "But I think we should actually go to the town first."

They began a brisk walk to Hogsmeade, talking about its shops and all of the homework they had yet to complete.

"Let's start off at Honeydukes," Nino decided. "I'm in the mood for some Pumpkin Pasties, and maybe some Cauldron Cakes too. I'm definitely buying some Pepper Imps, I want to prank a third-year in my dorm that been a real brat lately-"

"Tomes and Scrolls," Adrien suddenly said. "It's a small bookstore. I know it doesn't look like much, but it was my mother's favorite shop. A hidden treasure in Hogsmeade."

"That sounds wonderful," Marinette agreed. "Anyway, look at the amount of students in Honeydukes right now! We can save the sweets for later."

The line for Honeydukes trailed out of the shop's door.

They surveyed the area until they found Tomes and Scrolls.

Adrien pushed open the door and they stepped into an ancient bookshop that smelled of musty parchment.

"My, my. Is my vision failing me, or can you really be Adrien Agreste?" an old woman behind a wooden counter chuckled, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"Yes, I am. You must be Ms. Zinnia," Adrien greeted her.

"You look so much like your mother. With the number of books she bought, I'm surprised that she wasn't a Ravenclaw like your father and me. But I suppose that Slytherin is great, too," Ms. Zinnia softly smiled. "And you brought friends! What are your names?"

Alya, Nino, and Marinette introduced themselves.

"I suggest _Mary and the Wand of Legend_ by Ian Esther. It was Avery's favorite book. There should be a few copies left," Ms. Zinnia said.

"I found it!" Marinette said after five minutes of searching for the book. "It's about a young girl who was just like us, and when she went to Ollivander's, the Elder Wand chose her."

"You should buy it, Marinette. I've read it loads of times," Adrien said, appearing behind her.

She spun around.

"Oh- seems book this interesting! I mean, this book seems interesting," Marinette stuttered.

"I'm getting a few books myself," Alya added.

"A _few_?!" Nino choked.

Alya was carrying a stack of at least eight thick books.

They payed for their books and left the shop.

"Come again soon!" Ms. Zinnia said.

"Don't worry, we will!" Adrien grinned.

"How much money did all those books cost?" Marinette asked her best friend.

"Nine Galleons," Alya responded. "It's only ten o'clock. What should we do now?"

"There are less people in Honeydukes," Nino noticed.

"If you want candy so badly, we'll go," Adrien laughed.

They entered Honeydukes, which was still packed with sugar-loving students.

The aroma of cinnamon and vanilla reached their nostrils.

"Goodbye, allowance," Nino said, nearly drooling. "We'll have to buy some Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, treacle tarts, exploding bonbons, Chocolate Frogs, Pepper Imps, Peppermint Toads-"

"Do you want to buy the whole store?" Alya snickered.

"I'm just going to get some Every Flavor Beans and Pumpkin Pasties," Marinette said. "I'm not quite fond of their Cauldron Cakes. But that's coming from the girl who grew up in a magical bakery."

"Ice cream that never melts? It looks delicious! I'll have a caramel swirl cone, please," Alya said.

One of Honeydukes' many workers scooped out some ice cream.

"Two Sickles," he said.

Alya handed over some silver coins.

Nino had bought enough sweets to last him a month.

"It's good that all of this candy and chocolate never goes stale," Adrien said.

"Want some Every Flavor Beans?" Marinette offered her friends. "I've been lucky with this batch so far. The worst one I had was bread-flavored."

Adrien grabbed a bean from the bag and spat it out immediately.

"Rotten eggs," he gagged. "I'm not so lucky."

He took another one.

"Hey, this one's not so bad," Adrien smiled. "Wait. Gah, it's jalapeno!"

He nearly choked and managed to swallow the bean.

"Marshmallow," Marinette beamed.

"Chicken," Nino said after he chewed his Every Flavor Bean. "Adrien, for the safety of your tastebuds, you better not stick your hand in that bag again."

"Watermelon!" Alya cheered.

Adrien's stomach rumbled.

"I think it's time for us to go to the Three Broomsticks," Marinette smiled.

The pub was full of students, and most of their friends were already there.

A large crowd had formed in the middle of the Three Broomsticks.

Alya, Marinette, Nino and Adrien squeezed their way to the front.

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" a couple of third-years chanted.

Kim and Alix were surrounded by more than thirty mugs of Butterbeer, and most of them were empty.

Alix downed another glass and Kim belched.

"And…..stop!" Max said. "Alix, you drank fifteen glasses of Butterbeer. Kim, you drank seventeen. Therefore, Kim wins Round Two!"

"Dang it!" Alix groaned.

"Would anyone else like to challenge me?" Kim shouted.

"I will," Alya smirked.

"Alya, are you sure about this?" Marinette asked.

"Of course I am," Alya winked.

She sat next to Kim while Max ordered more mugs of Butterbeer.

"Round Three begins…..now!"

Kim and Alya started drinking like there was no tomorrow.

Soon, Alya was finishing two mugs for every mug that Kim forced down.

"Seriously, where is she putting all that stuff? _Where_?" Nino dumbfoundedly asked.

"I have no idea," Adrien simply said, just as shocked as his best friend.

"And…...stop!" Max yelled, trying to make himself heard over the crowd's racket. "Kim, you drank nineteen mugs of Butterbeer. And Alya, you drank- you drank-"

Max gulped.

"- _twenty-nine_ mugs of Butterbeer. Therefore, Alya wins Round Three."

"That was awesome!" Marinette grinned, high-fiving Alya.

"I'm starving. Let's order lunch," Adrien said.

They ate a few sandwiches and Alya ordered yet another thermos of Butterbeer 'for the road.'

"What- how- you have an unhealthy Butterbeer addiction. That's all I have to say," Nino sighed.

They exited the Three Broomsticks and walked to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"This place is awesome!" Marinette gasped.

"Look at the fireworks!" Adrien said, pointing to a colorful array of explosions just below the ceiling of the joke shop.

A firework-dragon soared right above them.

"I'm going to check out their Skiving Snackboxes," Nino said. "They're definitely going to help me through a good deal of History of Magic lessons."

"I'm going to buy Dungbombs," Alya said. "Just in case Chloe tries to do something horrible again, which she probably will."

Among the Weasleys' products, Marinette saw a few packets of Tickling Tacks, the very object that had saved herself from becoming a dark wizard.

A young man demonstrated a Headless Hat, a cap that made your head as invisible as Kim's Draught of Peace.

A voice on the magical loudspeaker reached the students' ears.

"Maintenance, please. Somebody accidentally released a Portable Swamp in Aisle Six."

A witch dashed over to Aisle Six and muttered a few incantations while waving her wand.

Her wand suddenly turned into a pair of boxers.

"Alright, who gave me this trick wand? I need my real one!" she yelled.

The wand thief, a fourth-year boy wearing a pair of Extendable Ears, reluctantly gave the witch's real wand back to her.

The maintenance witch soon made the Portable Swamp disappear.

Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Nino regrouped and wandered over to the cashier to pay for their joke products (including a love potion bought by Alya).

The ghost of a young man suddenly drifted over to them.

"How are you doing? I'm Fred Weasley, the one and only. Cursed to haunt my own company forever," he dramatically sighed.

"It's an honor to meet you, sir," Nino awestrickenly greeted him. "You died in the Battle of Hogwarts, right?"

"Correctamundo. And there's no need to call me sir. I see that you're buying some Skiving Snackboxes. Try the Fever Fudge, it's my favorite," Fred grinned.

He floated away to advertise his products to another group of students.

The four friends made one last stop at the Three Broomsticks to hang out with everyone else for an hour.

They decided to retire to their dorms for the remainder of the day.

Everyone was tired after the first Hogsmeade visit.

For the first-years' next few Herbology lessons, they learned how to grow enchanted pumpkins, for it was nearly Halloween.

Peeves the Poltergeist's pranks took a scary turn, and he developed a habit of jumping out of coffins and frightening the unlucky students that were passing by.

Even the ghosts seemed happier.

October 31st arrived and the scent of pumpkin spice filled the air.

The hallways were covered in Halloween decorations.

Everyone was joyful except for a certain Ravenclaw first-year.

Juleka shoved the bathroom door open and locked herself in a stall.

She sat on the toilet and started to cry.

"Are you okay?" Moaning Myrtle asked, appearing in Juleka's stall.

"N-no," Juleka bitterly said. "I-It's the anni-anniversary of my m-m-mom's death today, and Chloe t-teased me a-about not h-having a m-mother. I w-wish I could be with M-Mom, but she didn't c-come back as a ghost. I w-wish I w-was dead."

"Well, that's _horrible_ ," Moaning Myrtle drawled. "But not as horrible as Olive Hornby, the little brat!"

She wailed and dived back into her toilet.

Juleka sighed and looked at her wrist mirror, the last gift from her mother.

 **…...…**

"Poor girl. I know exactly how it feels to lose someone you love so dearly," Hawkmoth ruefully said.

He pointed his wand at a white butterfly.

"Akuma Kedavra!"

The akuma flew out of the window and landed on Juleka's wrist mirror.

"Spectre, you can give the students of Hogwarts a scare that they'll never forget and avenge your mother's death. But I need Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses in return," Hawkmoth said.

"I'd love to, Hawkmoth," Juleka muttered.

Dark magic washed over her and she rose into the air.

She wasn't dead, but nevertheless, she was transparent, because she was a ghost.

Her Ravenclaw robes had transformed into a silvery dress.

She was wrapped in chains and her eyes were completely white.

Her face had a rather blank expression.

She floated out of the bathroom and aimed her wrist mirror at a few students.

A silvery vapor came out of it and wrapped around the students.

They turned into ghosts, but they didn't move.

They just hung limply in the air.

Spectre smiled and levitated down the hallway.

 **…...**

"Wow, Hogwarts really goes all out for Halloween," Marinette grinned, looking at the skulls that littered the hallways.

"Yeah, and- duck!" Alya shouted.

A swarm of enchanted bats narrowly missed their heads.

"I swear, I'm going to be decapitated like Nearly Headless Nick if that happens again," Marinette said.

They bumped into Adrien and Nino.

" _Seven_ black cats have crossed my path today. _Seven_ ," Adrien groaned. "I must be cursed with bad luck for all eternity."

A black kitten suddenly rubbed against his shin.

"I think you meant eight," Nino laughed.

"Midnight, come back here!"

A third-year Hufflepuff girl scooped up the black kitten and ran to her dorm.

"PEEVES!" Professor Timmonds roared. "WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT RELEASING BOGGARTS, _ESPECIALLY_ ON HALLOWEEN?! WHERE IS IT?!"

"That's funny, I don't remember at all!" Peeves mischievously smiled.

Professor Timmonds stormed off to find the shapeshifting creature.

 _CRACK_!

The lights went out and cobwebs appeared in the corners.

A chilly fog formed in the hallway, and the blue sky darkened, turning the daytime into nighttime.

" _Please_ tell me that this is just one of W.W.W.'s pranks," Marinette said.

"I have a feeling that it's not," Adrien frowned.

"I am Spectre," a voice said, but its owner was nowhere to be seen.

"Chloe ridiculed me for my mother being gone, but at the end of Halloween we'll see who's going to have the last laugh. My mother's dead, but soon all of you will die too!" Spectre cackled.

"An akuma? Let's see, I have my camera, my quill, my notebook…..Yep, all set!" Alya said, leaving her friends to find the new villain.

The fog surrounded the students, completely obscuring their vision.

Marinette and Adrien quietly tiptoed away from the rest of them to transform.

"Tikki, spots on!"

"Plagg, claws out!"

Ladybug and Cat Noir nearly crashed into each other in the fog.

"Let's start off with something simple. Who was akumatized?" Ladybug thought out loud.

"Well, the victim sounds like a girl, and we know that her mother is dead," Cat Noir said.

And so is mine, he thought, trying not to cry.

"It's Chloe's fault. _Again_ ," Ladybug added. "Shocker. Hold on a second, it's that gothic Ravenclaw Chaser!"

She tried not to reveal that she knew Juleka's name.

"Poor girl," Cat Noir muttered. "We better look for her."

They slowly walked through the fog and saw a terrifying sight.

Five ghosts were suspended in the air.

Ghosts of _students_.

"What did Spectre do to them?" Ladybug gasped.

"If they're ghosts, then so is Spectre. We're dealing with the supernatural," Cat Noir said. "Her name's sort of a given. But these students didn't die."

"The way that ghosts work-" Ladybug began, "-you live, you die, and then you have the option of becoming a ghost or not. They aren't alive or dead. But the way that Spectre did this…..they lived, then they became a ghost. _Completely_ skipped the dying process."

"You sure do know a lot about ghosts," Cat Noir mused.

"Well, my grandparents are transparent. So yes, I know a lot about ghosts," Ladybug huffed.

"If Spectre wants her mother back, she's going to go to her cemetery. My guess is that she's buried at Hogwarts, along with over two hundred people. Spectre's going to- going to- forcibly bring her mother back as a ghost," Cat Noir whispered in horror.

 _But can I do the_ _same? Can I bring Mom_ _back?_ he thought.

He immediately dismissed the idea from his head.

Ladybug and Cat Noir dashed towards the Hogwarts Cemetery and saw Spectre screaming at a headstone.

"Mom! Come back! Do I need more life so I can be with you?! Do I?! _DO_ _I?!_ Please, Mom…...please," Spectre weeped.

She suddenly vanished into thin air.

The superhero duo strolled to the grave.

"Here lies Diane Elaine Couffaine," Cat Noir quietly read.

"Kitty, look at the ground," Ladybug mumbled. " _Look. At. The. Ground_."

Silver wisps circled around the grave, forming the distinct outline of a woman.

"That's _life_. Those are the _very life essences_ of _people_ ," Cat Noir firmly stated.

"And Spectre's going to get more. We need to go back," Ladybug said.

They hightailed it back to Hogwarts and caught Spectre turning more students into lifeless ghosts.

"To bring back my mother, I need something that you have," she snarled. "Your Miraculouses."

"Do they _really_ have to announce what they want from us _every time_?" Cat Noir groaned. "You'd think we would've gotten the point by now."

"I think your life force is going to be _very_ useful," Spectre said, pointing her wrist mirror at them.

Instead of silver vapor coming out of it, ghostly chains shot out and wrapped around Cat Noir.

"Cataclysm!" he shouted, swiping at them.

His hand went straight through the chains and they vanished.

"Lucky Charm!"

A camera fell into Ladybug's hands, similar to Alya's.

"We're reversing the roles this time," she whispered to her partner. "While I distract her, grab her mirror."

Ladybug rapidly took pictures of Spectre, the camera's blinding flash forcing the latter to shield her eyes.

Cat Noir nicked Spectre's wrist mirror and smashed it.

After the akuma was purified and Ladybug threw the camera into the air, Spectre faded away and Juleka was left in her place.

"What happened?" Juleka sniffled.

"You were akumatized," Ladybug gently said, helping her up. "But everything's okay now."

"And if you ever feel sad about your mother, just remember her laugh, her smile, her eyes…...just remember everything about her," Cat Noir said.

His green eyes widened. "I mean, uhhhh, that's what one of my my old friends did when he was sad about his father."

Ladybug raised an eyebrow underneath her mask.

"Thanks for the advice," Juleka said. "But Rose is probably worried about me."

She walked away, checking her wrist mirror every other step.

"We better treas _fur_ e Halloween and its _purr_ ks while we still can," Cat Noir added.

"Happy Halloween," Ladybug grinned.

 **…...**

The students stuffed themselves with every food possible, from turkey to dancing bowls filled with mashed potatoes to pumpkin pie topped with blue whipped cream.

Alya's parents had sent her some Muggle candy.

"I haven't had a Hershey bar in forever!" Alya laughed.

"A _what_ bar?" a fellow Ravenclaw asked.

Marinette's parents had sent her a miniature cake with frosting that changed its design every five seconds.

Headmaster Fu rang a small bell for attention.

"I have an announcement," he said. "Hogwarts has decided to participate in a prestigious competition, along with our Wizarding sister school, Ramhorns. It has already been agreed upon by Headmaster Freeburrow and myself. A student from each house shall compete."

Gasps and murmurs spread through the house tables like wildfire.

"That's right. We are bringing back the Triwizard Tournament."

 **…...**

 **I give all credit to blackmailingqueen for coming up with the Triwizard Tournament idea. She's stayed with this story from the very beginning, and I'd like to acknowledge that. I already have the first and final tasks of the Triwizard Tournament, but I'm deciding what to do for the second task. Reviews and PMs are highly suggested. Updates should be more frequent now, because I've finished** ** _An Armada of Ships_** **. Please read it!**


	7. The Sorting Hat Becomes Confused

**Have you noticed anything different about this story? Yeah, that's right, I added a cover! I thought that a cat Patronus would be perfect for** _ **The Magic Between Us.**_ **There's only one akumatized person for this chapter. And a Quidditch game. Two Quidditch games, actually. The first game is mostly from the announcers' POV, but the second game is from the players' POV. Quick pronunciation key: Joltcastle- pronounced exactly how it looks. Twynebud- Twine (like swine) bud. Vorrsteel: Vorr (rhymes with war) steel. Mystrik- Miss trick.**

… **..**

 _ **Chapter 6: The Sorting Hat Becomes Confused**_

Several more gasps filled the room.

"The Triwizard Tournament?!"

"Headmaster Fu isn't kidding, is he?"

"He _has_ to be joking."

"I'm totally entering!"

"Someone _died_ last time. There's no way that they're doing this again."

"One of my neighbors was Cedric Diggory's best friend. I wonder what she'll think when she hears about the Triwizard Tournament."

"Settle down," Headmaster Fu said. "The tasks of the Triwizard Tournament have already been determined. They are dangerous, but not so dangerous that the competitors could die. The eight representatives will be placed in pairs to further prevent peril. The champions of Ramhorns Academy and eleven others from each of their houses shall arrive on November 10th, two weeks before the first task. The Hogwarts champions will also be chosen on November 10th, and the Goblet of Fire shall be brought to the Great Hall the day before. All students are eligible to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Write your full name and your house on a piece of paper and place it in the Goblet of Fire to officially enter the competition. I suggest going to the library for more information about Ramhorns Academy."

By the amount of excited whispers currently flooding the Great Hall, you could easily tell that about half of the students would slip their name into the Goblet of Fire.

"It's already quite late. Go to your dorms, unless you want eye bags tomorrow," Headmaster Fu yawned.

The students reluctantly trudged to their rooms, their bellies full of food from the Halloween feast.

The next day, Adrien, Marinette, Alya and Nino headed to the library to read about Ramhorns after all of their classes had ended.

"This one should be useful. _A History of Wizarding Schools,"_ Marinette said. "There's a chapter for each school in the Wizarding World."

Nino and Adrien crowded around the book.

" _Ramhorns was created in the likeness of Hogwarts._ They're not kidding. Ramhorns looks _exactly_ like Hogwarts. _Although it is Unplottable, Ramhorns is known to be located in either New York City in the United States of America, Montreal in Canada, or Melbourne in Australia. The founders of Ramhorns were once Hogwarts students themselves._ That sure explains a lot," Adrien read aloud.

" _The founders of Ramhorns were Jacob Joltcastle the Enthusiastic, Victoria Vorrsteel the Devoted, Tracy Twynebud the Gentle, and Mark Mystrik the Powerful._ That's easy to match up. Joltcastle is Gryffindor, Vorrsteel is Hufflepuff, Twynebud is Ravenclaw, and Mystrik is Slytherin," Marinette continued.

"Joltcastle's animal is a horse, Vorrsteel's animal is a rhino, Twynebud's animal is a deer, and Mystrik's animal is a scorpion. Their elements are energy, metal, nature, and ice. Doesn't say anything about house colors, though," Nino said. "They even have the Sorting Staff, which are the founders' wands forged together. It works like a compass."

Alya, who was reading at a nearby table, looked up from _Lance Young's Guide to Taming Nessie,_ one of the books she bought from Tomes and Scrolls.

"You can stop reading there," she carelessly said. "The rest is just a bunch of nonsense about their great battles and other useless junk."

"I've never met a Ravenclaw who cares so less about knowledge," Marinette deadpanned.

"I know," Alya shrugged. "The Sorting Hat considered putting me in Gryffindor, but it decided that I needed to give the Ravenclaws 'more pep.'"

"I better get started on that paragraph on Doxies for Care of Magical Creatures," Nino said. "It's already 4:45, and it should only take twenty minutes or so."

"4:45?! I need to be on the Quidditch field at five o'clock! Gotta go!" Alya gasped, sprinting out of the library.

"I almost forgot, there's a Ravenclaw vs Hufflepuff Quidditch game tomorrow!" Marinette said. "I'll be rooting for Juleka and Alya, of course. I even made a sign. It's going to be a tough game with Mylene and Ivan as Beaters. I've seen them on the field, and it looks like the Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff game next month is going to be close."

"Not as close as the Slytherin vs Gryffindor game next week," Adrien grinned. "You're pretty fast, Marinette. I wonder which one of us will catch the Snitch."

"You're than better me so I guess will you? I mean, you're guess you will better so I me? That's not quite right….Uhhh, never mind," Marinette hopelessly sighed.

"It's my first time as a Quidditch announcer," Nino said. "Alya's good, but a guy's gotta support their own house, right? Who are you rooting for, Adrien?"

"Both teams. Ivan and Mylene are wicked fast on their Nimbus 2500's, but the Ravenclaws are all mounted on Comet 290's. Speaking of which, did you see Roger Davies last night? He used to be the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, and he's had the same broom for God knows how long. It's still in mint condition, too," Adrien responded.

"Davies? Not quite a fan of him. He's decent, but he's _nothing_ compared to Avery Lionne. She kind of looked like you, Adrien. Avery broke a lot of records with her broom. I wonder where she disappeared to. Rumor has it that she settled down in a cottage in Rome."

Marinette bit her lip.

Nino still didn't know who Adrien's mother was.

"Nino…..Avery Lionne was my mother. She died a little more than a year ago," Adrien quietly said.

"Oh," Nino whispered. "I'm sorry. Avery's a common name, and when Ms. Zinnia talked about her…..I just didn't make the connection. I'm sorry. Who….."

He hesitated.

"Who else knows?"

"Just us three. I'll tell Alya later," Adrien said.

"Is metamorphosis spelled m-e-t-a-m-o-r-p-h-a-s-i-s or m-e-t-a-m-o-r-p-h-o-s-i-s?" Marinette suddenly asked.

She was also doing her Care of Magical Creatures homework.

"The second one," Nino replied, feverishly scratching away at his own parchment.

Marinette groaned and crossed out a sentence. "I should've bought a Spell Check Quill from W.W.W."

…

The next morning, the amount of tension in the Great Hall skyrocketed.

The first game of the Quidditch season would start in less than an hour.

The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws glared at each other.

Fourteen students were noticeably absent from the tables, for the Quidditch teams had already eaten breakfast and were discussing their plays and strategies on the field.

Marinette fetched her sign from her bed.

It was blue with large bronze letters that spelled _LET'S GO, RAVENCLAW!_

She rushed outside and immediately slammed into Adrien.

"Oh! A-Adrien, you okay are? Ummm, are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Marinette stuttered.

"I'm fine," he said. "Actually, you're just the person I was looking for. Would you like to sit with me in the stands? I'll help you hold your sign."

"Sure!" Marinette said.

 _Adrien wants to sit with_ _me_ _!_ she thought. _Me_ _, of all people! Does this mean that he likes me?_

"So, where do you want to sit?" Adrien asked when they arrived at the Quidditch pitch.

"Near the front. I forgot to bring my binoculars to watch the game," Marinette sighed.

"Here, I have an extra pair," Adrien offered, handing her a pair of binoculars. "Take it!"

But not just any binoculars- _Omnioculars._

The best pair of binoculars that Galleons could buy.

Marinette gasped. "What? No! I couldn't possibly-"

"Take it," Adrien repeated, dropping the Omnioculars into her hands.

 _I'm holding a pair of Omnioculars. I'm holding a pair of real Omnioculars. I'm holding_ _Adrien's_ _Omnioculars,_ Marinette thought.

Most of the students were already there.

They sat in the front row.

While waiting for the rest of the students to arrive, Marinette played with the Omnioculars.

She turned a dial and made Adrien smile at her over and over again.

On the field, fourteen Quidditch players mounted their brooms.

The members of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team were decked in canary yellow robes.

The members of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team were wearing royal blue robes.

"You got this, Alya!" Marinette shouted.

Nino's voice reached her ears. "The first Quidditch game of the season! Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw, three new players on each team."

"Nino sounds like he's having a good time up there," Adrien remarked.

"Both teams look pretty fierce, don't they? This game might determine the outcome of the _entire season_ ," Alec ominously commented.

"Are you _trying_ to make the Ravenclaws nervous?" Mireille demanded.

"One game's not going to prove how much willpower that these players have, anyway," Emma pointed out.

"Will you please just announce the players' names already?" Professor Bustier exasperatedly asked.

"Oh. Right. On the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, we have Lucas Morney, Paul Queens, and Ellen McCollins as Chasers! Let's see how many points they can score. There's newcomers Ivan Bruel and Mylene Haprele as Beaters. They may be gentle, but on the field they're terrifying. Next, we have Sakura Yamaguchi as the Keeper. Last, but not least, give it up for Matthew Heinrich, the Seeker and the team captain!" Nino cheered.

The Hufflepuffs stood up and yelled for their Quidditch team.

"From the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, we have Juleka Couffaine, Alya Cesaire, and Andrew Olsen as Chasers, with Andrew as our captain!" Mireille said. "Our Beaters are Drake Jahili and Patrick Whitecloud. We have Shawn Gray as our Seeker, and Sam Knobel as our new Keeper!"

The Ravenclaws clapped and started chanting, "Ra-ven-claw! Ra-ven-claw! Ra-ven-claw!"

"You got this, Alya!" Marinette whooped.

"Alright, start the game already!" Alec yelled.

"Let's do this thing!" Emma shouted. "3…..2…..1…GO!"

Professor D'Argencourt, who was refereeing, blew a whistle and opened a case.

He tossed the Quaffle into the air, and the two Bludgers flew out of their own accord.

The Golden Snitch flew out of sight.

"It looks like Matthew and Shawn are already after the Snitch," Nino commented. "And the Quaffle is already in Hufflepuff's hands. Ellie passes to Lucas- Lucas passes to Paul, even though Ellie was _clearly_ open- and oh, Paul, why did you drop the Quaffle?!"

Alya zoomed underneath Paul and snatched the Quaffle.

"And Alya with the Quaffle- she passes to Andrew- he passes to Juleka-" Mireille continued.

"Watch out for the Bludger!" Emma yelled.

Ivan had hit an incoming Bludger in Juleka's direction.

She gasped and quickly ascended above the black ball.

"That was a close shave," Alec said. "Although, a Sloth Grip Roll would've been perfectly fine."

"Juleka passes back to Andrew- Andrew throws the Quaffle to the center goalpost-" Mireille excitedly grinned.

"Sakura dives- she misses- score against Hufflepuff," Nino groaned. "Ten-zip, Ravenclaw has the lead."

The Ravenclaws roared with delight.

"Get your act together, Sakura!" Matthew yelled.

Sakura cursed in Japanese under her breath.

"Hufflepuff's got the Quaffle," Alex continued. "Paul to Ellie- Ellie to Lucas- Lucas shoots- A PERFECT SAVE BY SAM KNOBEL!"

"A great addition to the team," Mireille agreed. "Two more weeks until Slytherin plays Ravenclaw, though. Let's see what-"

"Focus on _this_ game," Professor Bustier interrupted.

"Meanwhile, the Beaters are going back and forth with the Bludgers," Emma said. "A tough swing by Drake Jahili, but Ivan Bruel's holding down the fort! And- PATRICK JOHN WHITECLOUD, THAT WAS ATTEMPTED MURDER! That Bludger missed Mylene by less than a centimeter!"

"It's almost like that American Muggle sport, chaseball," Alec said.

"It's called _base_ ball," Nino corrected him.

"Same thing," Alec hastily said.

"ANOTHER SCORE FOR RAVENCLAW BY ALYA, Twenty to zero!" Mireille shouted.

"That was awesome, Alya!" Marinette cheered.

"Make another goal!" Adrien yelled.

Alya was dizzy from happiness.

"I made a goal! I can't believe it! My first Quidditch goal! Ever!" she laughed.

"Let's hope that you also make your second and third, and so on," Andrew said, patting her on the back.

After that, the Ravenclaw Chasers scored fourteen more goals.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, SAKURA?!" Matthew screamed. "At the very _least_ , do a Double Eight Loop!"

"SHOULDN'T YOU HAVE CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH BY NOW, MATTHEW?!" Sakura screamed back. "And it's not just my fault, either! Ellie, Paul, and Lucas haven't even put the Quaffle in the other goal _once!"_

"If you _must_ argue, please call a time-out!" Professor D'Argencourt yelled.

"Fine, then! Time-out!" Matthew said.

The two Quidditch teams huddled together.

While the fourteen players bickered and discussed game plans, the Quidditch announcers raved about Sam Knobel's extraordinary playing skills.

"He's saved about twelve goals now, hasn't he?" Mireille asked.

"Thirteen, actually. Sam's one of the best Keepers that Ravenclaw's ever seen," Emma said.

"He sure is. Sakura Yamaguchi, will you stop glaring at me like that?" Nino indignantly said. "Y'know, if you actually _saved some goals_ I would cheer for you instead of him."

"It looks like Le Chien Kim has some catching up to do," Alec smirked. "Alix Kubdel has a serious grudge against him."

"No kidding!" Emma snorted. "Rumor has it that Alix is teaming up with Abby and Zack Johnson, also known as the A-Z Pranksters, to stuff one _hundred_ Dungbombs into Kim's-"

"That's enough!" Professor Bustier interjected.

"And it looks like the time-out has ended," Mireille said. "Sakura and Matthew are _still_ at it."

Sakura flew by Marinette and Adrien while saying 'kuso baka kuso' repeatedly.

"What does 'kuso baka kuso' even mean?" Marinette asked.

"My father made me take a course on the history of spells when I was younger, and one day my teacher yelled that phrase loudly when he stubbed his toe on a desk," Adrien snickered. "It means-"

He whispered the words' definition into Marinette's ear.

"Oh my," she said. "Oh my. How old were you when you first heard it?"

"Nine," Adrien casually responded. "Professor Fujioka was immediately fired."

"And it looks like Matthew's seen the Golden Snitch!" Nino shouted. "But so has Shawn! Come on, Matthew, you have to be faster than that! It looks like Matt doesn't care whether Hufflepuff wins the game or not, he just doesn't want Shawn to get the Snitch! And he's diving-"

"And he's going to pull a Wronski Feint!" Emma gasped.

"Viktor Krum's signature move!" Alec added. "Matthew dives, and Shawn's on his tail-"

"And Matt pulls up at the last second! I can't believe it! HUFFLEPUFF'S GOT THE GOLDEN SNITCH!" Nino yelled.

"Somebody help Shawn!" Mireille shouted. "He crashed!"

Madam Pomfrey waddled onto the Quidditch field and carried Shawn to the hospital wing.

"Don't worry, Mireille, Shawn's going to be okay," Emma reassured her.

"RAVENCLAW WINS THE FIRST GAME OF THE QUIDDITCH SEASON!" Alec bellowed.

The volume of the Ravenclaws' chanting increased.

"Final score: one hundred sixty to one hundred fifty. What a close game!" Nino said. "Next week, we have Gryffindor vs Slytherin. Stay tuned."

When the students returned to Hogwarts, Marinette and Adrien regrouped with Alya and Nino.

"You made five goals!" Marinette grinned. " _Five goals!_ I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks! Of course, Juleka had that crazy goal when she was upside down, and Andrew scored most of them, but I managed to do a Finbourgh Flick like the latter suggested," Alya smiled.

"And your voice didn't crack once when you were announcing, Nino!" Adrien said, patting his friend on the back.

"Excuse me, what?" Marinette asked.

"My voice was perfectly fine yesterday!" Nino said.

"I think he's deaf. His voice was more high-pitched than a mouse's. I thought my ears would pop," Adrien chuckled.

Nino's face wrinkled into a rather sour expression.

"Let's go check on Shawn. I thought I heard some of his bones snap when he kissed the ground," Alya said.

The path to the hospital wing was blocked by Ravenclaws, who gave Alya an endless amount of high-fives.

After evading the vast crowd, Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Nino knocked on the door to the hospital wing.

"How many visitors?" Madam Pomfrey questioned from the other side of the door.

"Four," Marinette responded.

"Come in," Madam Pomfrey said.

They pushed the door open and were greeted by a happy-looking Shawn.

"Are you okay?" Adrien immediately asked. "I was watching through my Omnioculars, and you landed right on your head!"

"I'm as fit as a fiddle, except for one problem," Shawn sighed. "I can't play Quidditch ever again."

"WHAT?!" Alya shrieked. "Have you told Andrew yet?!"

"I find it funny that you didn't even start with why I can't play," Shawn laughed. "As a matter of fact, I've told Andrew already, and he's holding tryouts in five days."

"Madam Pomfrey can cure _anything_! She cured my father when he received a bloody nose from a Quaffle," Marinette said. "Why can't you play Quidditch?"

"I had a Quidditch accident when I was a toddler. My older brother hit a Bludger so hard that it broke. The moment he went back inside, I picked up a small piece of it and swallowed it," Shawn shuddered. "As you know, a Bludger's main job is to knock a player off of their broomstick, and that crash lodged the Bludger piece right next to my heart. If I ever ride a broom again, that piece is going to attempt to knock me off of my broom and go right into my heart. I've already been to St. Mungo's twice to have it removed, and there's nothing they can do about it."

"That's terrible," Adrien sympathetically said. "Are you sure that the Healers at St. Mungo's can't do anything?"

"I'm sure. But on the bright side, I finally have time for Max's chess club! I beat him three times already. He called me a chess prodigy," Shawn grinned.

After they left, the Ravenclaws' excitement had died down.

"Shawn's lucky that he's an optimistic guy. He could've been akumatized," Marinette said.

"Yeah, I don't think Ladybug and Cat Noir would want to fight an akuma right after a Quidditch game," Alya laughed. "By the way, what do you guys think of my next article for _The Ladybulletin_? It's going to include a poll about which house or houses everyone thinks Ladybug and Cat Noir are in."

"Cat Noir's _totally_ a Slytherin," Nino said. "He has the power of bad luck itself. That's practically Dark Magic, even though he uses it for good. No offense to your house, Adrien."

"No way! Cat Noir _has_ to be a Hufflepuff! Ladybug's his best friend. He trusts her with his _life_ ," Marinette argued. "But with all those puns and self-confidence, he could possibly be a Gryffindor. But he's definitely not a Ravenclaw."

Nino turned towards Adrien. "Which house do _you_ think Cat Noir's in?"

"I think he's a Hufflepuff. He seems like a Hufflepuff sort of guy," Adrien lied.

"Finally! _Someone_ agrees with me!" Marinette exclaimed.

"Wouldn't it be ironic if Ladybug was a Slytherin, though?" Alya laughed. "If she's not a Ravenclaw or a Gryffindor, I'll eat my wand!"

"She seems like more of a Ravenclaw," Nino said.

"With her brains, she's most likely a Ravenclaw. I wouldn't rule out Gryffindor _entirely,_ though," Adrien said.

"Yup, she's probably a Ravenclaw. Who knows? She could be sleeping a few bunk beds away from you, Alya," Marinette said.

"Oh please, I'd know if I was friends with _Ladybug_ ," Alya scoffed. "She's the most confident person I've ever seen. She's not a first-year, anyway. Ladybug's really short, but she's much smarter than us, so she has to be a second-year at the very least."

"Cat Noir's tall, so he's a third-year," Adrien said. "I don't see how he can be a first-year or a second-year."

"So you think Ladybug's a Ravenclaw second-year and Cat Noir's a Hufflepuff third-year," Alya summed up.

"Pretty much," Nino shrugged. "Even though _I_ think that Cat Noir's a Slytherin."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "He's as much of a Slytherin as Godric Gryffindor. Is he cunning? No. Is he ambitious? No, unless you count how much he wants Ladybug to be his girlfriend. So, he's _not_ a Slytherin."

"Whatever you say. What really matters is the decision of the fans," Alya said. "And I agree with Marinette. Cat Noir wears Hufflepuff robes."

 _If only they knew,_ Adrien thought. _If only they knew._

…

At the sound of the Hogwarts Express' whistle, the girl's olive-green eyes fluttered open.

She had stopped crying just yesterday, for that was when the Ministry of Magic had finally found her grandmother's will.

Her grandmother died last month, and her final wish was revealed just a few hours before the girl had boarded the magical train.

That was why the girl was going to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and never see Ramhorns Academy again.

She spent two months as a Mystrik, and now she was going to be a Slytherin.

No, that would be if she told the truth; for the girl would defy the Sorting Hat and _choose_ her house.

She would confuse the Sorting Hat, and she knew exactly how.

She would use a wordless, wandless Confundus Charm and make _her_ choice overpower the hat's.

The girl would become popular and have as many friends as she wanted, one friend to replace each person who bullied her at Ramhorns because she "was too inept at magic to be a Mystrik."

A boyfriend, too.

She would show them how powerful she was.

No matter how many lies she had to tell.

Hufflepuff didn't quite suit her.

Gryffindor was full of weak idiots who were "heroes."

Nobody trusted Slytherins.

That would leave Ravenclaw, the house for people who were clever.

 _Yes_ , the girl decided, _that's the house I choose._

When the Hogwarts Express rolled to a stop, she checked her watch.

7:00 am, right on schedule.

The girl stepped off of the train and one of its many elves ran up to her with a suitcase.

"You forgot your suitcase, so Niffy brought it to you!" the elf squeaked. "Here you go, miss- miss-"

Niffy checked the suitcase for the girl's name. "Here's your suitcase, Lila Rossi!"

…

"Father?" Adrien said.

He pushed open the door of his father's office.

An open book lay on the desk, next to his father's old peacock brooch.

Adrien picked up the book and nearly screamed.

It was full of information about Miraculouses.

 _Miraculouses._

There was a chapter about Ladybug, Cat Noir, even Hawkmoth, and a few others Adrien hadn't seen before.

"What's your dad doing with _this?_ " Plagg asked. "It looks familiar, but I can't think on an empty stomach, _hint, hint."_

"I….I..I don't know why my father has this," Adrien stuttered. "But I'm keeping it. I need to learn why Hawkmoth wants my Miraculous so much."

He shoved the book into his bag and sprinted out of his father's office.

…

"Listen up, everyone! We have a new student," Headmaster Fu said.

"A new student?"

"But we're already two months into the school year!"

"Is it a boy or girl?"

"Have they been Sorted yet?"

"Her name is Lila Rossi. Being sent to our great school was her grandmother's last wish. She is a first-year, and she shall be sorted within a minute," Headmaster Fu continued.

Lila walked over to the headmaster sat on a stool next to him.

Headmaster Fu placed a ratty-looking hat on top of her head.

 _Confundo,_ Lila thought.

The Sorting Hat stayed silent for a minute.

Two minutes.

Three.

Four.

"Just tell us Lila's house already!" a Slytherin shouted.

"Slygryffravepuff," the Sorting Hat confidently announced. "Hufftherclawindor. Gravenpuffslyth. Ravendorufflerin."

"Maybe we need to make sure it's still able to Sort people," Headmaster Fu muttered.

He took the Sorting Hat off of Lila's head and put it on Professor Timmond's.

"Gryffindor!" the hat yelled.

Headmaster Fu plopped the Sorting Hat onto Professor Mendeleiev's head.

"Slytherin!" the hat shouted.

"It's still working," Headmaster Fu murmured.

He placed the Sorting Hat back on Lila's head.

"Slyffinclaw!" the Sorting Hat declared.

"Well, that narrows it down," Headmaster Fu deadpanned.

"Ravtherin!" the Sorting Hat said.

It said nothing more for a whole minute, until it whispered something.

"Ravenclaw?"

"Speak up," Headmaster Fu ordered.

"R-Ravenclaw," the Sorting Hat slowly said. "Yes, Ravenclaw. That'll do. Lila Rossi, you are strange…..very strange…"

Lila hopped off of the stool and joined the Ravenclaws.

It took a second or two before they started talking to her.

Before lunchtime, Lila had already told enough lies to fill a baker's dozen of cauldrons.

"Did you hear? Lila was best friends with Adam Quincy!"

"Adam Quincy? _Thee_ Adam Quincy? As in the famous model, Adam Quincy? He's _so hot!_ Did you see his latest magazine cover? He looks _gorgeous!"_

"Lila's parents travel a lot, so she's been to thirty different countries! And she owns a vacation house in half of them!"

"I can't _believe_ that Jagged Stone wrote a song about _Lila_ and not _me!"_ Chloe huffed.

"It's not even lunchtime! How'd Lila become so popular already?" Marinette asked. " _And_ _why is she with my Adrien?!"_

" _Your_ Adrien? Somebody sounds jealous," Alya snickered.

"I am _not_ jealous! No way, no how, nope!" Marinette protested. "But still, I'm going to check on them. Just in case."

"Lila's not a bad person, trust me!" Alya said. "Because of her, _The Ladybulletin_ has more subscribers than ever!"

"What?!" Marinette yelped.

Alya handed her a copy of _The Ladybulletin._

 **NEW STUDENT LILA ROSSI IS FRIENDS WITH LADYBUG!**

" _Ladybug?" Lila Rossi says. "I've known her forever! We were neighbors when we were younger, and she saved me from being eaten by a hag! We've been best friends ever since. This was before she was actually Ladybug, of course. She never told me her real name. Ladybug was just her nickname back then."_

Marinette stopped reading the article.

"Isn't she so cool? She was best friends with Ladybug!" Alya squealed. "I wish I could say the same thing."

"Never mind that, I need to keep Adrien away from her!" Marinette said.

She followed Lila and Adrien into the library.

Adrien pulled out his father's book and began to read it.

"That book! Marinette, I need to get a closer look!" Tikki whispered.

"What? Tikki, no!" Marinette whispered back.

The ladybug kwami flew on top of a staircase to see the book.

"What's that?" Lila asked, referring to Adrien's book.

"Nothing, it's just some stories about superheroes," Adrien quickly said.

"I _love_ superheroes," Lila drawled. "Hmmm, is that Ladybug?"

"She's amazing," Adrien dreamily sighed.

"A girl doesn't need to dress like an insect to be amazing, you know. So you've got a soft spot for Ladybug, huh?" Lila said.

"What? Me? No way, no how, nope!" Adrien blurted.

"Ladybug and I were neighbors, as well as childhood friends," Lila suddenly said.

"Really?!" Adrien gasped.

"We can talk about it, if you want," Lila grinned. "Not here, though. Meet me at the superhero statues after our last class of the day, and I'll tell you all about Ladybug."

"Speaking of class, we have Potions in three minutes! Gotta go!" Adrien said.

He accidentally knocked the book onto the ground.

Behind her back, Lila flicked her wand and the book slid into her own bag.

"That lying brat!" Marinette angrily whispered from behind a bookshelf.

"So, the park?" Lila asked.

"Ummm, yeah, sure!" Adrien said as he ran out of the library.

Lila opened the book.

"A fox superheroine? This sounds interesting," she smirked. "A few Transfiguration spells, and I should be able to replicate the necklace perfectly."

She stuffed the book into her bag and left the library.

"Marinette, you mustn't let Lila out of your sight!" Tikki said.

"I know! I have to tell Adrien that she's a no-good thief!" Marinette scowled.

"No, you can't talk to Adrien yet! If that book is what I think is, we have to have it!" Tikki impatiently said.

"Why do you need this book so badly?" Marinette asked.

"I'll explain once I know for sure," Tikki said.

…

"There she is!" Tikki whispered. "We need to be near Lila."

Marinette tiptoed behind a bush.

Lila compared her necklace to the one in the book to make sure that it was a perfect copy.

She hexed her necklace one more time before she clasped it around her neck.

"Hi, Adrien!" she smiled, throwing the book into a trash can.

"Why, that little- Tikki, what do you think you're doing?!" Marinette hissed.

Tikki glided into the trash can and attempted to carry the book to Marinette.

"So you were really best friends with Ladybug?" Adrien asked.

"Yes! She'll recognize me right away. Saving someone's life isn't that easy to forget," Lila giggled. "But that's not the only reason we became friends. We share a very special secret- something that I wanted to tell you about. I'm the descendant of a vixen superheroine, Volpina."

"Volpina?" Adrien quizzically said. "Wait! I think I read about her in my book-"

Lila grabbed his hand to keep him from opening his bag.

"Of course you did!" she laughed, a slight undertone of hostility in her voice. "She's the most important superhero of them all, more _powerful_ and more _celebrated_ than Ladybug. Between you and me, Ladybug doesn't even make the top ten. My grandmother gave me this necklace before she died."

Lila waved her fox necklace in Adrien's face.

Marinette had to restrain herself from screaming with fury.

"Wow, she's good," Tikki mused. " _Really_ good."

Adrien's eyes widened. "This is a Miraculous?"

"I can't take this any longer. Tikki, spots on!" Marinette whispered.

Ladybug's black robes billowed in the wind as she swung around a tower before making a grand entrance in front of Lila and Adrien.

"Lila! How've you been? I saw your interview with Alya in _The Ladybulletin._ Awesome job! I remember how we instantly connected when I saved your life. Actually, when did that happen? Hmmm, I don't recall. Oh, now I remember! NEVER!" Ladybug yelled. "And we're not friends, either!"

"So you're not the descendant of a superheroine," Adrien disappointedly sighed.

"How _dare_ you?!" Lila cried, running away from them.

"Wait! Stop!" Adrien shouted. "What was all _that_ about? I mean, weren't you a little too harsh with her?"

"I hate people who lie just to become popular," Ladybug said, swinging away.

"What's with you, my lady?" Adrien wondered out loud.

…

Gabriel Agreste had checked every square millimeter of his office for the Guardian's Book.

But it had disappeared, completely vanished.

Maybe a villain would brighten up his day.

Gabriel Apparated to the Room of Butterflies and transformed into Hawkmoth.

"Akuma Kedavra!" he shouted.

The akuma flapped its nightshade-colored wings and landed on Lila's necklace.

"Volpina, with my help, your illusions and lies can come to life. Gain Ladybug and Cat Noir's trust, then betray them," Hawkmoth said.

"It would be my pleasure," Lila grinned.

Volpina's robes were black with an orange and white trimming.

She wore a white ruffled blouse underneath, like Ladybug.

She had orange spandex leggings with black boots.

An orange and black mask covered her eyes, and fox ears were set in her hair, which was dyed white at the tips.

A flute was clenched in her black-gloved hands.

Volpina played a haunting tune and pointed her flute at a copy of _The Ladybulletin_ on the ground.

Ladybug's photograph turned into Volpina's.

The villain grinned and walked away.

"How could this girl possibly have gotten her hands on the Guardian's Book?" Hawkmoth murmured. "Unless…..Adrien. My own son. I _must_ have it back!"

… **.**

A huge red dragon flew towards Hogwarts.

"What the- Plagg, claws out!" Adrien shouted.

He spotted (hehe, puns) Ladybug and pole-vaulted towards her.

Students screamed and ran in every direction.

Suddenly, a girl dressed in fox-themed robes flew up to the dragon and pushed it back.

"I am Volpina, the only superhero that Hogwarts needs!" she declared.

"Vol-pi-na! Vol-pi-na! Vol-pi-na!" the students chanted.

"I guess we have a new partner," Cat Noir shrugged.

"Don't you think it's weird how she just appeared out of nowhere?" Ladybug asked.

"I bet you that plenty of people thought the same thing when we became superheroes," Cat Noir answered. "We should talk to Volpina."

"Hi guys!" Volpina greeted them. "I'm glad you finally showed up. Come on, I need help with something."

A dark figure Apparated to the top of a tower.

Cat Noir gasped. "I can't believe it! It's Hawkmoth!"

"But he never shows up," Ladybug said.

"We can take him down, but we need to make the most of our individual talents," Volpina said. "By the way, nice to meet you, Cat Noir!"

"Ditto," Cat Noir grinned.

Ladybug gagged.

"First it's the meteor, now it's Hawkmoth. Don't you think that this is a little bit unusual?" Ladybug frowned.

"Why would you say that?" Volpina asked.

"I was talking to _Cat Noir_ ," Ladybug said.

"Actually, I think that your personality is what's unusual today. Is everything okay, my lady?" Cat Noir worriedly said.

"I'm fine," Ladybug replied. "I forgot to ask. Volpina, what's your Miraculous?"

"My necklace," Volpina responded.

"Your powers?" Ladybug continued.

"Flight and super strength," Volpina smugly said.

"Hawkmoth's Apparating away!" Cat Noir shouted.

"Ladybug, take the left. Cat Noir, take the right. I'll come from behind," Volpina commanded.

"No! I'll take the right, Cat Noir comes from behind, and you'll take the left," Ladybug said.

"Fine, then. It makes no difference to me," Volpina shrugged.

She flew away.

"Can you just calm down? She's one of us," Cat Noir said.

He and Ladybug ran off in different directions, each of them chasing one of Volpina's Hawkmoths.

"Where did he go?" Ladybug asked herself.

She took a step forward and ten Dementors surrounded her.

"If I were you, I wouldn't move an inch," Volpina laughed. "Don't worry, Ladybug, I don't want to be your _friend._ But at least now you can't say that we don't know each other."

"Lila?!" Ladybug said.

"You will call me Volpina!" the villain yelled.

"You're not a hero! You've been akumatized!" Ladybug shouted.

"But Cat Noir, along with every student and teacher in Hogwarts, thinks I'm a hero," Volpina cackled. "Now you can't call me a liar. Everyone will think _you're_ the liar! Before I let my friends give you the Dementor's Kiss, you'll give me your Miraculous."

"Never!" Ladybug said.

"Do you really think that you have a _choice_?" Volpina sneered. "Give me your Miraculous, or we'll see how good the students in that tower are at performing the Patronus Charm."

"You wouldn't!" Ladybug said.

Volpina blew into her flute and the Dementors hovered to a nearby tower.

"Stop!" Ladybug cried. "I'll- I'll-"

The Dementors passed through the tower and disappeared in a puff of orange smoke.

"They're illusions!" Ladybug realized. "Just like the dragon. Just like Hawkmoth! That's your power, isn't it? Illusions. _Lies_."

She threw her yo-yo and Volpina disappeared.

Ladybug's yo-yo slid open and revealed a mirror.

"What's this?" she muttered.

The mirror shimmered and Cat Noir's grinning reflection appeared.

"Hey, m'lady! It looks like our weapons have enchanted mirrors!" Cat Noir said. "Hawkmoth disappeared, and I can't find Volpina, either. So-"

"Forget it," Ladybug interrupted. "Hawkmoth was never there in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Cat Noir asked. "But we saw him Apparating everywhere!"

"That's Volpina's power. She can create illusions. The Hawkmoth, or rather, Hawkmoths, that we saw weren't real," Ladybug explained. "Volpina's not a superhero. She was akumatized by Hawkmoth. It's my fault. I ruined her chances with a boy that she likes."

"Lila?" Cat Noir mumbled.

"She's going to go to his dorm, and she probably knows the password to the Slytherin Common Room already. Meet me there," Ladybug said. "We'll ask Merlin for special permission again."

Cat Noir's reflection shimmered and faded away.

…

"Wouldn't _Cat Noir_ be a bit more useful in this situation?" Plagg deadpanned.

"If Volpina likes me in _that_ sort of way, maybe she'll listen to me," Adrien hopefully said.

"You really think that you can defeat her without powers?" Plagg scoffed. "Without me? Time to test your theory. Here she comes."

"Adrien!" Volpina smiled as she walked into the Slytherin Common Room.

Adrien decided to play dumb. "Who are _you_?"

"Don't you remember this necklace?" Lila said, holding up said necklace. "I didn't know how to tell you the truth, but at least you can see for yourself that I wasn't lying."

"Lila?" Adrien gasped.

 _Wow, I'm almost as good at lying as she is,_ he thought.

"You can call me Volpina," the villain said. "I'm sorry about the scene that Ladybug made earlier. She's just jealous because she's not as powerful as me."

Ladybug suddenly entered into the Slytherin Common Room.

"See what I mean?" Volpina continued. "She's jealous of us. You're not going to ruin our date this time."

"Excuse me, but it wasn't quite a _date,_ per say," Adrien piped up.

Volpina glared at him.

"But I mean, it could've become one!" Adrien quickly added.

"My apologies, but I'm here to have a little chat with this vixen brat," Ladybug said, pushing Adrien out of the common room.

"So, was I right or _was I right?"_ Plagg teased.

"Neither. Plagg, claws out!" Adrien shouted.

Volpina made a dozen copies of herself with her flute, but Ladybug made them vanish with her yo-yo.

"I'm sorry I was late. I thought that you said that she was going to the Gryffindor Common Room instead of the Slytherin Common Room," Cat Noir lied.

"She took Adrien!" Ladybug said.

"That's an illusion!" Cat Noir blurted.

"How do you know?" Ladybug said.

"My….uhhhhhh…..feline sixth sense, it's legendary!" Cat Noir stammered.

Ladybug dragged him out of the common room.

"Look! He's not here!" she said.

She dashed down the hallway.

"I'm not even going to try to get out of this one," Cat Noir sighed.

He followed Ladybug onto the Main Tower, where Volpina was dangling Adrien from its thick spire.

"Give me your Miraculouses or else I _will_ drop him," Volpina threatened.

"You're bluffing!" Cat Noir yelled.

"You wanna bet?" Volpina laughed.

She released each of her fingers from Adrien's wrist.

"No!" Ladybug screamed.

She tried to remove her earrings.

Cat Noir threw his metal stick at Volpina and Adrien, and they exploded into orange smoke.

Ladybug and Cat Noir jumped up the spire's platforms.

With a single note from her flute, an army of Volpinas surrounded the original.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted.

A bar of Leprechaun gold fell into her hands.

"Oh, I know what to do with this!" Ladybug said, squinting at the gold. "It's so shiny that I can't see anything. Use your power, kitty."

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir shouted.

Ladybug aimed the Leprechaun gold at the Volpinas and they were blinded.

Cat Noir touched the spire and it broke into seven separate pieces, falling together to make a cage around the real Volpina.

"Trapped like a fox," Ladybug grinned.

"You- you- you just made a pun! I'm so _purr_ oud," Cat Noir said, wiping a tear from his eye.

Ladybug sighed and swiped Volpina's necklace.

She smashed it and purified the akuma.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" she cheered.

The spire repaired itself and Volpina reverted into Lila.

"Lila, I'm sorry for what I did," Ladybug apologized. "I shouldn't have-"

"You're right," Lila spitefully said. "We're not friends, and we never will be."

She skillfully climbed into the closest window.

"There's one more problem that we need to solve," Ladybug said. "Where's Adrien?"

"Since everything's been fixed, he's probably back in the common room," Cat Noir nervously said.

"I'm going to make sure that he's okay," Ladybug affirmed.

She swung away.

"That stubbornness. It's so….so…... _irresistable_ ," Cat Noir happily sighed.

He raced to the Slytherin Common Room.

"Hey, this is Ladybug. Can I come in?" Ladybug asked.

"Uhh….n-no!" Cat Noir stuttered. "My friend accidentally hexed me and I have…...errrrr...I have a lot of unsightly warts! But other than that, I'm completely fine."

"Oh. I guess I'll be off, then. It's good to know that you're okay, Adrien," Ladybug said.

They both sighed and leaned their heads against the painting that separated them.

Luckily for them, Merlin was gone at the moment.

Ladybug ran away from the common room's entrance.

…

"Why is this book so important?" Marinette asked her kwami.

"Its information is invaluable, absolutely priceless!" Tikki said, turning the book's pages.

"But it's written in code, and I don't think that the Ancient Runes professor even knows what all of this means," Marinette frowned.

"Headmaster Fu knows. He's the Great Guardian, the protector of every Miraculous. Headmaster Fu gave you and Cat Noir your Miraculouses. We need to give the Guardian's Book back to him before Hawkmoth finds out that we have it," Tikki explained.

"What?!" Marinette gasped. " _Headmaster Fu_ is the reason that I'm Ladybug?"

"Yes! While it's still the afternoon, you should go see him," Tikki suggested.

Marinette gently closed the book and strolled to Headmaster Fu's office.

She knocked on the door and it creaked open.

"Hello, Ladybug," Headmaster Fu greeted her.

The door shut itself.

"H-Hello, Headmaster Fu! So I….uhhhh…..you're the Great Guardian?" Marinette stammered.

"That is correct," the old man nodded. "It's nice to see you again, Tikki. You are doing very well with Marinette. But I'm quite certain that Plagg is being a nuisance to Cat Noir."

"Who's Plagg?" Marinette questioned.

"Plagg is Cat Noir's kwami. I see that you have a present for me," Headmaster Fu said. "Please sit down. Wayzz, it's okay for you to come out."

The turtle kwami flew out of a vase and hovered next to the headmaster.

"You're a Miraculous holder, too?" Marinette asked.

"Indeed he is, but his crime-fighting days are long over," Wayzz laughed.

Marinette sat in the cushioned chair in front of the desk and presented the Guardian's Book.

Headmaster Fu raised his eyebrows. "I haven't seen this for a long time, not since it was stolen by Hawkmoth. I-"

" _Hawkmoth?!"_ Marinette interrupted. " _Hawkmoth's_ already seen this book?"

"Yes, he has," Headmaster Fu sighed. "Hawkmoth wasn't always evil. He was almost exactly like Cat Noir, but the death of his partner, who was also his wife, changed him. I'm afraid to say that I can't seem to convince him to accept his wife's death and return to the good side. That's why he wants the Miraculouses, to resurrect her. The Miraculouses, like the Deathly Hallows, are gifts from Death. There are seven Miraculouses in all, but owning the two most powerful ones will make you the Master of Death. You know which Miraculouses those are."

"If Hawkmoth's wife will be resurrected, that's good, right?" Marinette said.

"No, it's not good at all," Headmaster Fu grimly said. "Hawkmoth's already abusing his Miraculous, so just imagine if he possessed the most powerful ones. The power will go to his head, and it'll be the Second Wizarding War all over again."

"I have to go to Quidditch practice now, so goodbye," Marinette said.

"Goodbye!" Wayzz said.

"Thank you for returning the Guardian's Book. Goodbye! Oh, and the kitchen elves have noticed a large absence of cookies. Try to be a bit more stealthy," Headmaster Fu added.

…

How dare he?

How _dare_ he?

The secret to resurrecting Avery was now forever out of his reach, and Headmaster Fu, that _smug old tortoise,_ had gone so far as to lecture him about 'returning to the good side.'

He read the letter again.

 _Dear Gabriel Agreste,_

 _I would like to inform you that I am the new owner of the Guardian's Book. I know the reason why you want Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses, and I am sorry to say that the two superheroes will not be handing them over anytime soon. Before you berate your son, Adrien, for giving the book to me, I advise you to_ _help_ _him_ _. You are not Avery's only mourner, and your son doesn't have a real father to help him get over the loss of his mother. Please, Gabriel, accept that Avery is gone. You are a wise man, and you know that resurrecting the dead is a difficult and dangerous task. You think that you are doing the right thing in bringing back your wife, but in truth, you are not. Using a Miraculous that is not your own has already driven you mad with greed. My only wish is for you to liberate Nooroo from the chains you have set upon him. As Nooroo has most likely told you, only Duusu,_ _your_ _kwami, can help you return to the good side._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Headmaster Fu_

Gabriel scowled and crumpled the letter into a ball.

He threw it into the fire and watched it burn.

Gabriel sat on the rug in front of his fireplace and started to sob.

…

The rest of the week brought a record-breaking amount of students to the hospital wing.

Slytherins and Gryffindors alike had tried to injure and curse the opposing team's Quidditch players.

Ivy DeSanto, a Slytherin Chaser, had ended up with deer antlers growing out of her head from the wand of a Gryffindor Chaser, Jack Miller.

For revenge, Lydia Brown, the Gryffindor Keeper, released an angry Blast-Ended Skrewt into the Slytherin Common Room.

As a result, Le Chien Kim, the Slytherin Keeper, received numerous burns.

Madam Pomfrey, needless to say, was extremely glad that the Gryffindor vs Slytherin Quidditch game had finally arrived.

"It's time. Gryffindor vs Slytherin, the most anticipated game of the season, is about to begin in a few minutes!" Nino yelled.

The humongous crowd roared with joy.

"In case you haven't been told yet, Lila Rossi has been appointed as the Ravenclaw Seeker," Mireille added.

The Ravenclaws clapped.

"And we have the Gryffindor Quidditch team mounted on Quicksilver 360's, Cleansweep 12's, a Comet 290, a Nimbus 2500, and a Firebolt prototype. That's right, folks, you're looking at _The Valkyrie,_ Summer Riskin's very own broomstick," Emma said. "We have Grace Edwards, Jack Miller, and Alix Kubdel playing as Chasers, with Alix as our new captain. Jeffrey Hughes and Henry Miller are Beaters. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is our new Seeker, and Lydia Brown is our Keeper!"

Alix gave Marinette the signal and the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team rose into the air.

 _Why are there so many people?_ Marinette nervously thought. _And why am I suddenly so afraid of falling off of my broom?_

"On the Slytherin Quidditch team, we have Ivy DeSanto, William Montgomery, and Cody Penmore playing as Chasers," Alec said. "Aurore Beaureal and Derrick Fedorovski are our Beaters. Adrien Agreste is our new Seeker, and Le Chien Kim is our new Keeper and captain!"

Adrien took a deep breath and mounted his broom.

 _I got this,_ he thought. _I'm going to catch the Golden Snitch. I'll make you proud, Mom._

Professor D'Argencourt released the Snitch and the Bludgers.

He threw the Quaffle into the air and blew his whistle.

Marinette and Adrien levitated above the other players to have a better view of the field.

They tuned out the announcers' dialogue.

"Hi, Marinette!" Adrien said, surveying the field.

"Oh, uhhh, hello!" Marinette said.

She gripped her broom's handle so tightly that her knuckles became white.

 _What should I say, what should I say, what should I say?_ Marinette frantically thought.

"I forgot to return your Omnioculars last week. I'll give them to you after the game!" she blurted.

"Nah, it's alright. You can keep them," Adrien shrugged.

"O-Okay then!" Marinette stuttered.

Below them, Alix scored a goal.

"Ten to zero! Gryffindor has the lead!" Emma shouted.

"Kim looks really mad," Adrien laughed.

"It's going to be a rough game," Marinette said.

There was awkward silence for a minute or two.

"MARINETTE, LOOK OUT!" Jeffrey yelled.

Aurore had hit a Bludger towards her.

"What?" Marinette asked.

Just as the Bludger was going to break her spine, Adrien shoved her aside.

"Thanks!" Marinette squeaked.

"WHAT WAS _THAT,_ ADRIEN?!" Kim roared. "Why are you helping the _other team?!"_

"She could've been seriously hurt!" Adrien argued.

Kim said nothing and saved a goal from Grace.

Cody Penmore soon scored a goal against Lydia.

The Gryffindors groaned and the Slytherins cheered.

"Ten to ten. A tie," Mireille said. "Ouch! Jack just got a Quaffle to the face!"

"JACK BARTHOLOMEW MILLER!" Alix yelled. "STOP STARING AT THOSE GIRLS AND CONCENTRATE ON THE GAME!"

Marinette and Adrien burst into laughter.

" _Bartholomew_?" Marinette giggled. "With a middle name like that, I'm surprised that Chloe hasn't teased Jack about it already."

"Poor guy," Adrien sympathized.

Suddenly, Derrick Fedorovski flew up to the two Seekers.

"Kim told me to tell you to stop flirting with each other, and that Adrien should start looking for the Golden Snitch instead of stupidly grinning at Marinette. Kim also says, quote unquote, 'You two can snog each other _after_ the game.' That is all," Derrick deadpanned.

Adrien and Marinette's faces turned as scarlet as the latter's Quidditch robes.

They zoomed in different directions and looked around the field.

 _Aha! I see the- no, that's a ball of yellow Exploding Yarn from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes,_ Marinette frustratedly thought. _Dang it!_

 _A flash of something golden! Wait, that's just William's glasses,_ Adrien thought.

Lightning flashed in the distance, and thunder shook the ground.

"It looks like there are dark clouds on the horizon," Nino said.

"Let's hope one of the Seekers catches the Snitch soon, or else we're going to be drenched," Emma added.

"SCORE FOR SLYTHERIN, TWENTY TO TEN!" Alec yelled. "Thank you, Ivy!"

The Slytherins started to recite a cheer that they had made up earlier:

" _We're the silver snakes!_

 _Hear us hiss!_

 _We're more powerful than a Dementor's Kiss!_

 _We are never gonna fail,_

 _Yeah, we'll bite your lion's tail!"_

After Jack had redeemed himself by scoring, making the score a tie again, the Gryffindors sang a tune that sounded like Old MacDonald:

" _We're faster than Hippogriffs,_

 _That's why we will win!_

 _We're so quick that you seem stiff,_

 _That's why we will win!_

 _You can look over here,_

 _And you can look over there,_

 _Here's no Snitch,_

 _There's no Snitch,_

 _Everywhere there's no Snitch!_

 _Because guess what? We caught it first!_

 _Yes, we're gonna win!"_

Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs broke out into song.

A fight between a couple of Gryffindors and Slytherins broke out in the stands, but everyone was too intent on watching the game that nobody bothered to stop them.

After some goals from each of the Chasers on both sides, the score was seventy to seventy, tied yet again.

Kim and Alix agreed to a time out.

"Henry and Jeffrey, you're doing great. Just make sure that nobody from our team gets hurt, though," Alix said. "Grace and Jack, don't be afraid of being aggressive. Ivy, Cody, and William are playing rough so we have to push past them, okay? Other than that, you're doing fine. Lydia, you've saved a buttload of goals so far, but do some of the plays from practice. Try to pull a Swinging Savior. I know it's going to be difficult, but you have amazing arm strength. Marinette, those dark clouds aren't going to disappear. You've gotta snatch the Snitch!"

Professor D'Argencourt blew his whistle and the game resumed.

William grabbed the Quaffle and zoomed towards Lydia.

Lydia held onto her Comet 290 and did a handstand.

 _What is she doing?_ Marinette thought.

Lydia did a backflip while still holding onto her broomstick, booting the Quaffle onto the other side of the field.

Alix caught it and chucked it through a goalpost.

"SCORE FOR GRYFFINDOR, EIGHTY TO SEVENTY!" Nino shouted.

The Gryffindors' jubilant shouting and the Slytherins' protests drowned out the sound of thunder.

Something golden vibrated by Kim's right ear.

For a second, the crowd was silent.

Then everyone, even Professor Bustier, began shrieking at Marinette and Adrien.

" _CATCH THE SNITCH!"_

Marinette dived down.

The wind whipped her hair around and she could feel one of her pigtails becoming looser and looser as she gained speed.

She didn't care.

All that mattered was the Snitch.

Adrien was almost sitting on the end of his Quicksilver 360.

 _It's for you, Mom. I'll catch the Golden Snitch for you,_ Adrien thought.

Marinette and Adrien crashed into each other.

The Golden Snitch was right between their hands; it was almost like they had tried to high-five each other but the Snitch had gotten in the way, and then it popped upwards and landed in the lap of a Ravenclaw fourth-year.

The crowd's screaming died down.

"And the winner is….Ravenclaw?" Nino confusedly said.

Marinette then realized the embarrassing position that she and Adrien were in.

She had lunged so far forward that she had _landed on top of Adrien._

Her own broom hung limply in the air a few feet back.

Marinette and Adrien's noses were touching.

She felt like she was going to faint.

"Sorry!" Adrien sputtered.

Marinette sat bolt upright and leapt back to her broom.

The other players had dismounted from their brooms and were staring at the two Seekers.

Marinette and Adrien nervously dismounted from their brooms as well.

"So….who won?" Alec asked.

"A Golden Snitch has a flesh memory, so it will declare the winner," Professor D'Argencourt said.

The Ravenclaw fourth-year threw the Snitch to him and he handed it to Adrien.

The Golden Snitch stayed still, so Adrien gave it to Marinette.

The Snitch flapped its silver wings and the word _CHAMPION_ magically engraved itself onto the golden surface.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Emma yelled. "Final score: two hundred thirty to seventy!"

At that very moment, the heavens opened up and everyone was immediately soaked.

Everybody (except for the Slytherins) went wild and started chanting Marinette's name.

Adrien smiled at her.

 _Maybe next time, Mom,_ he thought.

The (rather wet) Gryffindors carried Marinette to the common room.

"How'd you manage to get the Snitch, Mari?" Alya asked, squeezing water out of her hair.

A few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had managed to sneak into the Gryffindor Common Room.

"I guess I was just lucky," Marinette answered. "Really, _really_ lucky."

… **..**

 **I'll just go over some things that you're probably wondering about. Nobody suspected Lila's Confundus Charm simply because nobody expects first-years to know how to perform wordless/wandless spells. I know that the Japanese don't typically curse, but just put 'kuso baka kuso' into Google translate and you'll laugh. I also changed Ladybug's Lucky Charm item because blinding people with shiny ice cream was just too weird. Before you get out your torches and pitchforks, I promise that I'll introduce the students of Ramhorns in the** _ **next**_ **chapter. Okay? Chapter 7 will also include the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. The Gryffindor vs Slytherin game was the basis of this entire story, along with Chapter 8 (the Yule Ball).**


	8. Ernest Skeeter Isn't So Earnest

**Meh….I may have lied. I had to split this chapter into two chapters. The first task is in Chapter 8, and the Yule Ball is in Chapter 9.**

…

 _ **Chapter 7: Ernest Skeeter Isn't So Earnest**_

"I can't believe it!"

"There it is, right in front of me."

"Wow, it's the real one!"

"Let's hope that nobody curses it this time."

"Are you gonna put your name in?"

"No way! It's suicide."

"Headmaster Fu said that it's safe, but I bet you that's exactly what Dumbledore told Cedric before _he_ died."

"Am I the only one who expected it to be more, I don't know, _flashy_? It's not even made out of gold."

"The real question is who's going to put their name in first."

"Is _anyone_ going to put their name into the Goblet of Fire?" Alya loudly asked. "Everyone's just been staring at it for the past ten minutes."

"We volunteer as tributes!" Zack Johnson declared.

"What is this, the Hungry Games?" Adrien mumbled.

" _Hunger_ Games," Nino corrected him.

"We thought long and hard, and we finally decided that we should be the first sacrifices," Abby Johnson dramatically sighed.

Each of the Gryffindor twins whipped out a quill and a few pieces of parchment.

The scribbled what seemed like multiple names and marched to the Goblet of Fire.

Abby saluted to no one in particular and blew her nose into a handkerchief before dropping her slip of paper into the wooden cup's white-blue flames.

Her brother did the same.

They stepped away from the Goblet of Fire and started cackling for no apparent reason.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Adrien frowned. "What did they do?"

"It may have something to do with the gigantic argument that Alix and the twins had last night," Marinette said. "I couldn't get any sleep."

"What was the argument about?" Adrien asked.

"Abby and Zack really want Gryffindor's champion and the champion of whichever-house-we're-paired-up with to win. They told Alix that everybody from the Quidditch team should put their name in because we're the most athletic, but she said that she doesn't want the Triwizard Tournament to distract us from Quidditch. So- oh no. _Oh no._ Nonononono _no_! This is _not_ happening! Please tell me this _isn't_ happening!" Marinette panicked.

"Oh, it's happening, alright," Alya grinned.

"Wait a second, what's happening?" Nino asked.

"Mari's name is in the Goblet of Fire and there's no way that she can take it out," Alya smirked.

"Why'd you say it?" Marinette groaned.

"Don't worry, I'll put my name in to make you feel better," Adrien reassured her. "And I'm sure that Nino and Alya will, too. _Right?"_

"Are you _nuts_?" Nino choked. "If I'm chosen, I'm dead! Even if you gave me a million Galleons, I wouldn't-"

Adrien elbowed him in the ribs.

"Fine, I'll enter," Nino sulked.

"So will I. Why not?" Alya shrugged.

"It's not like I'm actually going to win, anyway," Marinette calmly said. "Everyone's putting their bets on some Gryffindor third-year named Carlos. He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts student in his class! It's either Carlos or Riley, that one fourth-year girl who's not afraid of _anything._ When that Boggart got loose on Halloween, it stopped right in front of her and completely disappeared!"

"Maybe she's terrified of ants?" Adrien guessed. "Kim's already putting his name in, look!"

Kim took a deep breath and gently placed a piece of paper into the Goblet of Fire.

Many other students stepped up and followed his example, including Adrien, Alya, and a very hesitant Nino.

Adrien had to literally carry him onto the pedestal where the wooden goblet stood.

At the end of the day (according to Max's watchful eyes), two hundred fifty-nine Gryffindors, two hundred fifteen Hufflepuffs, one hundred eighty-seven Ravenclaws, and two hundred sixty-four Slytherins were officially nominated for the Triwizard Tournament.

The next day, the everyone in Hogwarts practically plowed the door down, trying to see how the Ramhorns students would arrive.

"Do you think that they're going to take the Beauxbatons approach and use flying carriages?" Marinette excitedly asked.

"Maybe they'll use a gigantic ship!" Nino said.

"In _A History of Wizarding Schools,_ it says that Ramhorns is the ideal breeding grounds of-"

Alya was cut off by a sudden shout.

"Hey, what's that?"

"Where?!" dozens of students yelled.

"In the sky!"

Everybody looked up, craning their necks to see the students of Ramhorns.

"Are those really…...did they tame…...no….." Adrien whispered. "Dragons."

Flashbacks poured into his mind.

" _Daddy, what's that?!" Adrien asked, pointing to a large creature in the sky._

" _It's a Hungarian Horntail! Oh dear, I'll alert the Ministry of Magic as soon as we get home!" Gabriel nervously said. "Mr. Purcell, we need to Apparate!"_

 _Mr. Purcell (their chauffeur), Adrien, and Gabriel stepped out of the limousine._

 _It was the first time that Adrien had experienced Side-Along Apparition._

 _They stood in front of the Agrestes' mansion._

 _The Agrestes' burning mansion._

 _An intricate symbol, the mark of the Firestorms, had been carved onto a pillar._

 _Without a doubt, the dragon that Adrien had seen was one of the Firestorms' dragons that were specifically trained for magical arson._

" _AVERY!" Gabriel cried._

 _He dashed into the flame-engulfed building and searched for his wife._

 _Ministry officials had to drag him out of his house._

" _I'm sorry, Mr. Agreste, but-"_

" _NO!" Gabriel roared. "NO! AVERY'S NOT GONE! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY! AVERY IS ALIVE, AND I_ _WILL_ _FIND HER, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR? DO I?!"_

" _Adrien."_

" _Dude, are you okay?"_

" _Adrien_!" Marinette said. "You look really pale."

"I'm fine," Adrien hyperventilated. "Completely fine. Why wouldn't I be? I'm just really scared of dragons."

"The dragons from Ramhorns are tame. There are only four of them, anyway," Alya said. "Joltcastle's dragon is Thunder, a Romanian Longhorn. Vorrsteel's dragon is Odin, a Ukranian Ironbelly. Twynebud's dragon is Druid, a rare cross between a Peruvian Vipertooth and an Antipodean Opaleye. Mystrik's dragon is Avalanche, a Hebridean Black. Impressive creatures, aren't they?"

The Ramhorns students slid down the dragons' backs and took in their new surroundings.

A thin old man hopped off of Odin's back.

Headmaster Fu, who was a good two feet shorter than the man, strolled over to greet him.

"Hello, Headmaster Freeburrow," Headmaster Fu cheerfully said. "How was your ride?"

"Quite a thrill," Headmaster Freeburrow chuckled. "Though, I'm not sure that the Twynebuds would agree."

A young Twynebud girl was currently vomiting behind Druid, while the others were struggling to hold in their suppers from the night before.

"Please, come inside. I have the Room of Requirement prepared as lodging for your students," Headmaster Fu said.

The two gentlemen walked inside, leading the grand procession of students from both schools.

Marinette's predictions were correct.

The Joltcastles, wearing black robes with aquamarine and turquoise trimming, took an immediate liking to the Gryffindors; the Vorrsteels, their trimming orange and metallic gray, to the Hufflepuffs; the Twynebuds, their trimming ivory and copper, to the Ravenclaws; the Mystriks, their trimming purple and silvery-blue, to the Slytherins.

Right before lunch, Headmaster Freeburrow rang a bell to get everyone's attention.

"When I call the champions' names, please stand with Headmaster Fu and me," he said.

He took four slips of paper from his pocket.

The Ramhorns students already knew who their champions were, for they had been called for the journey to Hogwarts along with eleven others from each of their houses.

"From Twynebud, we have Samantha Lakewood!" Headmaster Freeburrow said.

The Twynebuds politely clapped as a second-year girl with black ringlets, olive skin and hazel eyes walked up to Headmaster Freeburrow.

"From Vorrsteel, we have Christopher Sterling!" Headmaster Freeburrow continued.

The Vorrsteels cheered while a tall African American fourth-year boy who could easily bench press his own weight followed Samantha.

"From Mystrik, we have Eve Hendriksen!" Headmaster Freeburrow said.

Not a word was said as a fourth-year girl with long, wispy caramel-colored hair, fair skin, and gray eyes followed Christopher.

"From Joltcastle, we have Nicholas Orchard!" Headmaster Freeburrow finished.

A third-year boy with brown eyes and spiky hair that was half neon green and half bright blue stood up and practically skipped next to Eve.

"Eve and Christopher shall be partners for the Triwizard Tournament, as well as Samantha and Nicholas," Headmaster Freeburrow grinned.

"The Hogwarts champions shall be similarly paired up," Headmaster Fu said. "Hufflepuff with Ravenclaw-"

The two said houses shrugged, as realization sank into the other two.

"-and Gryffindor with Slytherin."

Scowls, snarls, and angry shouts of dismay filled the Great Hall.

"Before you ask, the champions are not allowed to change partners," Headmaster Fu said.

He tapped the Goblet of Fire with his wand.

The wooden cup's white-blue flames turned red and a scorched piece of paper shot out of it.

"From Hufflepuff, we have Daisy Trillkey!" Headmaster Fu announced.

The Hufflepuffs cheered as a third-year girl with short mousy-brown hair, eyes the same color, and black glasses beamed and skipped to Headmaster Fu.

The Goblet of Fire spat out another piece of paper.

"From Ravenclaw, we have Richard Weller!" Headmaster Fu continued.

A good-looking fourth-year boy with shiny auburn locks and blue eyes followed Daisy.

Many Sickles were passed under the Ravenclaw table, as Richard had the most bets for the Ravenclaw champion.

A neat, folded piece of parchment with beautiful cursive letters gently floated out of the Goblet of Fire.

Headmaster Fu straightened the piece of parchment out and raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"From Slytherin, we have Adrien Agreste!"

Adrien was so surprised that he started to choke on his own spit.

He scrambled from the Slytherin table, accidentally stepping on Kim's foot as he scrambled next to Richard.

Adrien being chosen as the Slytherin champion sparked a change amongst the Gryffindors.

The Gryffindor girls were on the edge of their seats, all of them wanting to be Adrien's partner in the Triwizard Tournament.

One last slip of paper drifted out of the Goblet of Fire.

"From Gryffindor, we have Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" Headmaster Fu said.

" _What?!"_ Marinette shrieked.

Alix looked like she wanted to rip Abby and Zack's throats out.

She probably would've if a couple of fourth-years hadn't held her back.

"Marinette's gonna get seriously injured! And then who'll play Seeker? _Who_?" Alix scowled.

Marinette gulped and walked over to Adrien.

"So I guess we're partners, huh?" Adrien grinned.

 _I have compete in a suicidal tournament with the love of my life,_ Marinette numbly thought. _I have to compete in a suicidal tournament with the love of my life. I have to compete in a suicidal tournament with the love of my life. You won't die, just calm down, calm down, calm-_

That was exactly when Marinette fainted.

…

"Look, she's waking up!" a distant voice said.

 _But I don't want to,_ Marinette sleepily thought. _I just want to rest in this meadow forever, away from everyone, away from responsibility, away from, life. The flowers smell so nice….._

She blinked a couple of times and rubbed her head.

"Where am I?" Marinette groaned.

"You're in the hospital wing," Madam Pomfrey calmly responded. "You've been through a tough ordeal-"

"You were out cold for almost three hours!" Alya worriedly said. "It's already eleven o'clock!"

"I had the craziest dream," Marinette laughed. "The students of Ramhorns arrived on huge dragons! Dragons that were bigger than the entire Quidditch pitch!"

"Mari-" Alya interrupted.

"Sounds weird, right? Well, it gets weirder!" Marinette rambled. "After we went inside, they announced the names of the Ramhorns champions and there was a guy with blue and green hair, but other than that, everyone else looked completely normal. So Headmaster Fu told us that Slytherin and Gryffindor would be paired up for the Triwizard Tournament. Then Adrien was chosen as the Slytherin champion!"

" _Mari-"_

"I mean, it makes sense," Marinette continued. "Adrien's the most perfect guy in the universe, so of course he'd be chosen. But here's where it turns into a nightmare. Headmaster Fu called out _my_ name, and I started freaking out, because I would be doing tasks that meant imminent death! With my crush, no less! I think it was the weirdest dream I've ever-"

"Marinette!" Alya snapped.

"She's just in a state of denial," Madam Pomfrey said.

Marinette blinked. "Denial?"

"Yes, sweetheart," Madam Pomfrey reassured her. "None of that was a dream."

"But that guy! He had bright green hair!" Marinette protested.

"Nicholas is a Metamorphmagus, honey," Madam Pomfrey said. "You just need to get over the initial shock of being chosen for the Triwizard Tournament. Do you want a Chocolate Frog? I'll get you a Chocolate Frog. They always make me feel better."

For the second time that day, Marinette lost all consciousness.

Alya sighed.

…

Marinette woke up ( _again_ ) in an hour, just in time for lunch.

She ate a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of tomato soup, and snuck in some chocolate chip cookies for Tikki.

"What happened while I was asleep?" she asked her friends while they walked to Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Alix got detention. Let's just say that the Johnson twins are in the hospital wing now. I'm not going to go into all the details," Alya shuddered.

"Headmaster Fu and Headmaster Freeburrow told the champions that the first task is on November 24th, and the Weighing of the Wands is on November 17th," Adrien said. "The headmasters will be judging the Triwizard Tournament, along with Chloe's father and Mr. Wood, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. He used to be a Keeper for Gryffindor. We also have an interview with Mr. Skeeter before the Weighing of the Wands. He's interviewed me before."

Adrien's forced smile told Marinette that Mr. Skeeter wasn't exactly an _honest_ journalist.

"Mr. Skeeter…..Why does that sound so familiar? Oh, I know! Ernest Skeeter, the most bogus writer for the _Daily Prophet_ that ever existed!" Nino laughed.

"I've read a few of his articles. He's trying so hard to stir things up, and the worst part is that most people actually _believe_ him," Marinette said.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Alya sighed. "He always brags about how his aunt, Rita Skeeter, was 'friends' with Harry Potter. I'm so _sick_ of the gigantic column that he gets in the newspaper when there are interesting stories that only get a paragraph."

"The worst part is that Mr. Skeeter is wrapped around Chloe's perfectly-manicured little finger. Somehow, someway, she's managed to convince him that we're star-crossed lovers. There are fifteen articles about our so-called 'romantic relationship.' My father has bought and demolished most of the copies, but there are still some of them out there," Adrien said.

They finally arrived at the DADA classroom, where there were only two other students, two unfamiliar first-years from Ramhorns.

"Who are you?" Marinette asked.

"I forgot to mention, these two are going to be part of our class for the rest of the school year," Alya said.

The girl, a Joltcastle, looked almost exactly like Marinette.

Her pigtails were a darker shade of blue and much longer, and her eyes were the same shade as her hair.

"Hi, I'm Bridgette! Bridgette Xiao! Nice to meet you," she giggled.

The boy, a Mystrik, sighed.

He had pale skin, pale blond hair that was neatly cut, and cold blue-gray eyes.

"Felix Bösedrachen," he boredly said.

The other students flooded into the classroom.

Mylene had barely sat down when Professor Timmonds Apparated into the room, bringing the smell of burnt chicken with him.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I see that we have two new students. Welcome to Hogwarts, Felix and Bridgette. Your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher from Ramhorns sent me a letter on your knowledge, and it seems that you two are on the same level as the rest of the class. We will not need this classroom today. Please follow me," Professor Timmonds said.

He briskly walked outside of the poorly lit room, and the students had to run to keep up with his lengthy strides.

He paused at a room that was completely empty, except for a large oak cabinet at the back.

"We are going to learn about Boggarts. They hide in dark, cramped places, like this cabinet. Nobody knows the true form of a Boggart. They take on the form of your worst fear, but getting rid of them is easy. You have to turn your worst fear into something so absurd and laughable that it's no longer scary. After you have that image in your mind, point your wand at the Boggart and say 'Riddikulus!'" Professor Timmonds said.

Marinette closed her eyes and thought of her worst fear.

Lethifolds.

Black, shroud-like creatures that could murder you and swallow you whole in the dead of the night.

Monstrous shadows that were impossible to escape.

Suffocation was inevitable.

There was one that had attacked a nearby section of Paris when she was in third grade.

Five sets of parents, innocent Muggle parents, woke up to find their child missing.

Marinette only remembered the name of one of them.

Skylar was a quiet girl who never talked much unless she had to answer a question from the teacher.

She would read a new book every day, until a Wednesday in April.

Skylar was never seen again.

But how could Marinette possibly turn Lethifolds into something cheery?

 _A dress!_ Marinette thought. _I'll just turn the black cloak into a pretty ball gown._

"Are you ready?" Professor Timmonds asked.

"Yes!" most of the students shouted, while Adrien stayed silent.

Professor Timmonds opened the cabinet.

Because Kim was at the front of the group, the thing that crawled out was a huge Acromantula.

Kim (femininely) screamed and pointed his wand at the Boggart.

"Riddikulus!" he shrilly said.

Loud music from the 1950's started to play.

"You put your left arm in, you put your left arm out!" a woman sang.

The Acromantula attempted to follow the lyrics' instructions.

The result was that it tripped on one of its legs and landed on its face.

Some of the students began to chuckle.

"You're doing great, Kim!" Professor Timmonds said.

Kim grinned as the Boggart moved onto its next target, Chloe.

The dancing Acromantula turned into a swarm of rats.

"VERMIIIIIIIN!" Chloe shrieked. "Save me, Adrikins! Riddikulus! Riddikulus! Make them go away!"

The rats turned into adorable golden toy poodle puppies.

"Awwww!" Rose cooed.

"I'm more of a cat person," Adrien grumbled.

The puppies jumped in front of Nathaniel and turned into a deranged version of Professor Mendeleiev.

She sneered and waved some of his best drawings in his face, then ripped them into shreds.

Nathaniel took a deep breath and shouted "Riddikulus!"

Professor Mendeleiev started to honk like a goose, earning a barrelful of laughter from the students.

Each of the students confronted the Boggart.

Alya's clown became a tulip.

Nino's man-eating headphones (it was a childhood experience that he didn't like to talk about) turned into a bunch of bubbles.

Mylene's Boggart, the darkness, was sucked up by a vacuum.

Ivan's Inferi turned into zombies, which were still terrifying for everyone except him.

Juleka's mermaids (the fish-like ones with razor-sharp teeth) that swam in a tank became harmless goldfish.

Lila, who was afraid of fire, turned her flames into balloon animals.

Rose's huge viper turned into pink butterflies.

Sabrina's wasps became sparrows.

Alix was afraid of mummies (which was ironic, considering that her father was the manager of a museum), and the mummy's bandages turned a hideous shade of neon green.

Bridgette's odd slime-monster vanished into a puddle of water.

Felix's rabid mountain lion shrank into a kitten.

Everybody laughed at Max's worst fear, ducks.

"Anatidaephobia is completely rational! Riddikulus!" he yelped as a duck chased him.

The duck turned into a rubber chicken.

Marinette's Lethifold wrapped around her and she turned it into a beautiful blue dress.

Although it was weak, the Boggart preyed upon Adrien.

It turned into a massive Hungarian Horntail.

Adrien froze.

" _Mommy, Mommy, where are you?" Adrien screamed. "Daddy, where's Mommy?!"_

The dragon stared at him.

Adrien shivered and his knees wobbled.

"Adrien, are you-"

Professor Timmonds' voice was the last thing he heard before he shoved the door open and sprinted out of the room.

…

Adrien hid inside the bathroom for the remainder of the Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson.

The next class was History of Magic, the most boring period of the day.

Well, except for the black owl that landed on Adrien's desk while Professor Binns droned on and on about some goblin war that nobody really cared about.

The owl released a red envelope from its talons and flew away.

Adrien didn't need to see the fancy signature on the Howler to know who sent it.

He opened the envelope and a voice started to speak.

The voice wasn't angry, it was just _loud_.

"Meet me in my office, right after class."

After Professor Binns finished rambling about goblins, Adrien knocked on the door of his father's office.

"Come in," Gabriel said.

Adrien pushed the door open and stepped inside the room.

"Father, do I have a new modelling appointment? Or-"

"You know _exactly_ why I called you here," Gabriel interrupted. "You do understand that I can't allow you to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, right?"

"Why not? It's a good thing that I'm representing Slytherin. Headmaster Fu told us that the tasks aren't life-threatening. My partner is one of my friends. The Triwizard Tournament could heal the rift between Gryffindors and Slytherins," Adrien argued.

"I care about your health more than an old house rivalry. No son of mine will ever participate in such barbaric practices," Gabriel simply stated.

"'Barbaric practices?' Father, this is a friendly contest between schools! It's going to be fine, and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself during the Triwizard Tournament," Adrien protested.

"What spell or potion did you receive to make you do something so insane as to put your name into the Goblet of Fire?" Gabriel asked.

"I wrote my name of my own accord! You're not even proud of me for being chosen! _Mom_ would've been proud of me!" Adrien yelled, tears streaming down his face.

He stormed out of his father's office.

Gabriel ran after him.

"I LOVE YOU, ADRIEN, AND I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU LIKE I LOST YOUR MOTHER!" he yelled back.

Adrien stopped and looked at his father, his green eyes slightly red.

There they were, Avery's eyes again.

The same emerald eyes, filled with laughter, radiance, and summer days.

The eyes, the hair, the living memory of Avery, a memory that Gabriel couldn't afford to lose.

Adrien turned away from him and continued his journey to the Slytherin Common Room.

… **.**

The following week passed by faster than a Firebolt.

On November 17th, Ernest Skeeter and his cameraman arrived to interview the champions of Ramhorns and Hogwarts.

The cameraman was dressed in normal black robes, but Ernest's choice of clothing caused everybody to look away from him.

His gleaming golden robes had a bright blue flame design, presumably to match the Goblet of Fire.

His matching top hat clashed horribly with his blond hair.

The journalist led the eight students to a lavish room with five black leather sofas.

Four of them had two pillows, each with different colors: red and green, blue and yellow, turquoise and ivory, and purple and orange.

The students sat on their designated sofas while Ernest plopped down on the pillowless one.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng from Gryffindor, Adrien Agreste from Slytherin, Daisy Trillkey from Hufflepuff, Richard Weller from Ravenclaw, Nicholas Orchard from Joltcastle, Eve Hendriksen from Mystrik, Christopher Sterling from Vorrsteel, and Samantha Lakewood from Twynebud. Is that correct?" Ernest asked.

The champions nodded.

A garish neon yellow Quick-Quotes Quill that was hovering next to Ernest wrote a few (mostly untrue) paragraphs.

"Adrien, how's your romance with Miss Chloe Bourgeois doing?" Ernest continued.

"For the last time, we're not a couple!" Adrien scowled.

"Oh, Adrien, my dear boy, the cat's out of the bag!" Ernest laughed. Your relationship isn't a secret anymore, you can tell Papa Ernest _everything_! And speaking of relationships, a little birdie told me that you had a very beautiful one with your mother. Will you _please_ tell me who-"

"No," Adrien grimaced. "Stop bugging my father and me about the identity of my mom. And I'm not illegitimate, either. So stop spreading _that_ rumor, too."

"But the world _must_ know the truth! It's only a simple detail, and it would be a shame if you kept it from us. Next we have Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the daughter of bakers. You didn't choose to be a champion, did you, sweetheart?" Ernest grinned.

"No, I didn't," Marinette said. "I became completely calm once I realized that I _had_ to participate. Now I'm confident that we'll win! Errrr, sort of."

"Any juicy secrets?" Ernest impatiently asked.

 _Well, yes. I'm Ladybug,_ Marinette thought.

"I want to become a professional robes designer, and I still have to complete my Potions homework," she deadpanned.

"Interesting! Very interesting!" Ernest chuckled. "And Daisy Trillkey, you're a Muggle-born pony enthusiast."

"Why is blood status so important around here?" Daisy mumbled.

"What did you say, sweetheart?" Ernest asked.

"Oh, I just said that my favorite horse is named Rushbank, a brown Clydesdale. His mate, a black mare named Swiftheart, died last week," Daisy quietly said.

"How tragic," Ernest sighed. "So, this pony, Dashbank, is your soul, your life, your only source of happiness? And Speedheart, the love of his life, died? How tragic, indeed."

" _Rush_ bank and _Swift_ heart," Daisy corrected him. "Rushbank will get over it. He's a tough stallion."

"Dashbank sounds like a wonderful pony. And Richard Weller, the golden boy. Best of his class. Son of a Muggle male model and a witch model," Ernest grinned.

"I'm not really the best, you should see Carlos defeating Dementors all by himself, and then there's Matt, who's great at Potions," Richard hastily said. "But I'm pretty decent in my classes. I'm no 'golden boy,' though."

"And there are at least twenty girls who fawn over you. Which one do you love the most?" Ernest asked.

"I don't love any of them because I already have a girlfriend. Tara's the nicest person I've ever met. She cares about my personality more than my looks," Richard said.

Ernest waved his hand dismissively and turned towards Chris.

"Chrissy! You look strong and muscular. Are you ready for the Triwizard Tournament to begin?"

"My name is _Chris_ , and I am prepared for the first task, thank you very much," Chris said.

"Not much of a speaker, eh?" Ernest sighed.

"I own five Crups. Are you satisfied?" Chris smirked.

"I'll see what I can do with that tidbit of information," Ernest muttered. "Eve, you can-"

"Yeah, I can sing. So what? Move onto Samantha or Nicholas, please," Eve hissed.

"So, Sammie-"

Samantha rolled her eyes. "I like reading books, solving riddles, and I'm good at kicking people in the shins if they get on my nerves. That's all you need to know. Don't call me Sammie, either."

"A feisty one! So, Nicky, my pal," Ernest continued. "We only have thirty seconds before we have to take pictures, but-"

"My-name-is-Nicholas-Carter-Orchard-I-like-drawing-and-playing-Quidditch-and-running-and-walking-my-dog-and-cooking-and-playing-the-guitar-and-juggling-and-woodworking-and-making-soap-sculptures," Nick rambled. "I also like to come up with limericks."

"That's the spirit!" Ernest grinned.

The cameraman took at least fifty photos of the champions before he and Ernest left.

"Mr. Skeeter's…..a strange one," Daisy commented.

"You have no idea," Adrien sighed.

Headmasters Fu and Freeburrow, Mr. Bourgeois, Mr. Oliver Wood, and an old gentleman entered the room to begin the Weighing of the Wands.

The judges greeted the champions, and the elderly man (the original Mr. Ollivander's son) gestured towards their wands.

Mr. Ollivander examined Adrien's wand first.

"Eleven inches, pine, phoenix feather core, smooth and swishy. Regularly polished. Orchideous!"

A bouquet of black roses sprang out of Adrien's wand.

Mr. Ollivander handed the roses and the wand to Adrien.

He examined Marinette's wand next.

"Eleven inches, cherry, dragon heartstring core, rigid. Rarely polished, but decently enough. Orchideous!"

Marinette's wand produced a bouquet of red tulips.

Mr. Ollivander gave the tulips and the wand to Marinette.

He ran his slender fingers over Richard's wand.

"Thirteen and three-quarter inches, hickory, dragon heartstring core, rough and swishy. Polished once a week. Orchideous!"

A bouquet of hydrangeas bloomed out of the wand.

Mr. Ollivander proceeded to check the other champions' wands.

By the end of the Weighing of the Wands, each of them had a bouquet of flowers.

Adrien had black roses, Marinette had red tulips, Richard had blue hydrangeas, Daisy had daffodils, Eve had purple orchids, Nick had wildflowers, Samantha had scarlet tiger lilies, and Chris had white crocuses.

"Make sure that you keep those flowers for the second task in February. No matter what happens, don't lose them. Have a good day!" Headmaster Fu smiled.

He, Mr. Ollivander, and the other judges left the room.

"Why on earth would we need flowers?" Adrien wondered. "Unless we have to brew a potion or something."

"Maybe the scent makes you see visions. Maybe the petals have healing powers. Maybe it's a communication device with aliens," Nick suggested.

"I doubt that it's going to be the last one," Eve frowned, sniffing one of her orchids.

"Forget the second task, we need to focus on the first task! Does anybody have any clue whatsoever what we have to do?" Marinette asked.

Everyone shook their heads, except for Chris.

"Last night, I looked out a window and saw the headmasters levitating a gigantic metal crate that was wrapped in chains. It was shaking, too. Then I saw a huge paw come out of it, and the creature that was in there scratched the Care of Magical Creatures professor," he somberly said.

"Is Otis okay?" Richard asked.

"After he was scratched, Headmaster Fu told him that the first ones are the least dangerous. There are twenty in all," Chris said.

"'The least dangerous,'" Samantha echoed.

She started to murmur a list jinxes and protective charms to herself.

Richard, Daisy, and the Ramhorns champions went to the library to research as much as they could about the possible beasts the crate(s) could contain.

 _As long as they don't have dragons, I'll be fine,_ Adrien thought. _But if they do….._

He suddenly grabbed Marinette's arm.

"Marinette!" Adrien panicked. "What if there are dragons? You'll have to….I can't…"

He began to hyperventilate.

"Adrien, I'll be there for you. If there are dragons, I'll protect you. We can win the Triwizard Tournament, but we'll look out for each other along the way," Marinette said.

"Promise?" Adrien asked.

"Promise," Marinette nodded.

… **...…**

Numerous rattling crates were seen over the following days.

Every student had become curious about them, but Otis refused to answer any questions.

The nineteenth crate, which was bigger than a Graphorn, arrived in the middle of Marinette and Adrien's next Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

"Otis, where did you get that scratch?" Nino asked, trying to feed a slab of raw meat to his griffin.

Otis rubbed some sort of salve on the large gash on his right arm.

"None of your business," he grumbled. "Kim, leave the crate alone!"

Kim was trying to see what was in the metal box.

He reluctantly returned to Marinette, Adrien, and Rose, whom he had been grouped with for their griffin-feeding assignment.

"What'd you see?" Rose whispered.

"Something big and furry with red eyes," Kim whispered back. "If this is for the first task, the judges are insane."

"If it's dangerous, it's definitely for the tournament," Marinette sighed.

"Whatever they're hiding from us…..I have a feeling that the twentieth is the worst," Adrien solemnly said.

The next day, the last crate showed up, along with the large crowd of students that surrounded it.

Riley, a Gryffindor fourth-year, peeked into the crate's small slits.

She screamed and froze in place, like a statue.

"I knew this would happen!" Madam Pomfrey huffed, pushing through the crowd.

She poured an antidote down Riley's throat.

"What did you see?" Adrien shouted.

"It was green….and scaly…..its golden eyes…...its fangs…." Riley shuddered.

Marinette's eyes widened with horror, and she uttered the creature's name before Riley could.

"Basilisk."

…

 **What evil thing am I planning for the first task? You'll have to wait! Oh, and the champions aren't going to be too happy when they read Ernest Skeeter's interview...**


	9. Things That Go Bump In The Night

**Ladies and gentlemen, readers and writers, all of my OTPeople, without further ado, I present to you: the Triwizard Tournament! That's right, folks, the first task is about to begin! (Warning: LOTS of Adrienette! And whenever you see -random word- pretend that it's crossed out, since the Doc Manager doesn't allow strikethrough)**

… **...…**

 _ **Chapter 8: Things That Go Bump In The Night**_

Ernest Skeeter was now in the hospital wing of Hogwarts.

He had bruised shins, a bloody nose, a black eye, and a broken arm.

 _What did I do to possibly deserve this?_ he weakly thought.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head.

"You shouldn't have published that article," she sighed, probing his arm with her wand.

 _I don't regret any of it,_ Ernest thought.

Well, that wasn't completely honest.

Maybe he did.

But just a little bit.

There was a teeny, tiny, miniscule speck of regret.

Because publishing 'that article' was totally worth it, even if it meant being kicked in the shins by an angry teenager.

And being punched in the face by another angry teenager.

And having his arm twisted by two different angry teenagers.

And being knocked unconscious by yet another angry teenager.

And hearing the delighted shouts of other teenagers, who were cheering on his attackers.

His speck of regret slowly began to grow.

… **...**

 _A Few Hours Earlier_

Hundreds of owls swooped down from the ceiling of the Great Hall, each of them carrying a copy of the _Daily Prophet._

Marinette fed Sugar a biscuit and unfolded the newspaper.

"That doesn't look so good," Alix said.

Marinette read the latest edition of Ernest's article.

 **MEET THE CHAMPIONS OF HOGWARTS AND RAMHORNS!**

 _Written by the devilishly handsome Ernest Skeeter_

A picture of the champions took up the entire front page.

 _Today, on November 17th, I have with me the champions of the Triwizard Tournament: Adrien Agreste, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Daisy Trillkey, Richard Weller, Christopher Sterling, Eve Hendriksen, Samantha Lakewood, and Nicholas Orchard._

 _All of them are misunderstood by their peers; but only I have the honor of hearing their deepest, darkest secrets._

 _They have chosen to pour their hearts out to me, and me alone._

 _I interview Adrien Agreste first, the shy son of Gabriel Agreste._

 _Adrien is also currently dating Chloe Bourgeois, the daughter of the Minister of Magic._

 _He is excited about the tournament, although his father is not._

 _I ask him what his mother would think about her son being a champion._

 _Tears start to well up in his beautiful green eyes._

" _I think she would be proud," Adrien cries. "My mom was the light of my life. And now that she's gone-"_

 _He breaks down and sobs, then resumes talking after pulling himself together._

" _I would love to tell you who she was, but I can't," Adrien sniffles._

 _Which raises a new question: IS ADRIEN AGRESTE ILLEGITIMATE? (See page 6 for more details)_

"'A new question?' Oh please, it's not new if it's been repeated at least once a month," Alix snorted.

 _I interview Marinette Dupain-Cheng next, the daughter of two lovely bakers._

 _Marinette didn't choose to be a champion, though._

 _Her name was forcibly put in the Goblet of Fire by two classmates._

 _In fact, Marinette fainted on the spot when her name was picked from the goblet._

"They don't need to know that!" Marinette embarrassedly said.

 _Marinette seems like a calm, creative girl on the outside._

 _OR IS SHE?_

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I am," Marinette muttered.

 _Marinette speaks through actions, not words._

 _Her drumming fingertips and sweaty palms tell me that she is a nervous wreck._

"I am _not_ a nervous wreck!" Marinette scowled.

 _She has the right to be one, for the first task is incredibly lethal._

 _Her quick glances also tell me that she is in a more-than-friendly relationship with Adrien Agreste._

Marinette choked on her waffles.

"Excuse me?!" she coughed.

Alix patted her back to dislodge the waffle piece out of her throat.

 _I can see it through every single one of their actions._

 _These two are obviously, hopelessly in love!_

Marinette choked again.

 _It looks like Chloe, Adrien, and Marinette are in a love triangle._

 _Which girl deserves him more?_

 _See page 7 for our new poll!_

"Poll?!" Marinette shrieked.

"I'll vote for you," Alix reassured her.

 _I continue onto Daisy Trillkey, a Muggle-born witch with a passion for ponies._

 _I ask her to explain her simple life in the country._

 _She emotionally describes a heartrending tale about the death of Speedheart, the mate of her favorite pony, Dashbank._

" _I don't know how he'll ever move on. I don't know how_ _I'll_ _ever move on. I just ask that you cheer me on in the Triwizard Tournament," Daisy mourns._

 _I interview Richard Weller next._

 _He's Hogwarts' golden boy: kind and caring, gets good grades, and has a beautiful girlfriend._

 _OR IS HE?_

 _I finally have the chance to discover Richard's deepest, darkest secret._

 _He has at least six other girlfriends on the side._

 _Before the interview, I talked to Jane Tyler, one of Richard's many love interests._

" _Oh, Richard? Richard Weller? He's the love of my life. I remember when we met on the Hogwarts Express, I looked into his gorgeous blue eyes and he looked into my brown ones and we instantly fell in love! We've been dating ever since," Jane giggles._

 _There you have it, living proof that Richard Weller is a playboy._

"I know that guy. He's no more of a playboy than you, Nathaniel," Alix laughed.

Nathaniel let out a small chuckle before continuing to draw.

 _I move onto the Ramhorns champions._

 _Specifically, Christopher Sterling._

 _He doesn't speak much, has a sarcastic sense of humor, and has a tough exterior._

 _OR DOES HE?_

 _Underneath his cold shell, he's a warm, puppy-loving boy!_

 _Chris shows me adorable pictures of himself and his five Crups.  
_ " _I care about them so much," he grins._

 _How lovable!_

 _I interview Eve Hendriksen next._

 _Her singing voice is stunning, and she demonstrates Amazing Grace, which she sang at her grandfather's funeral last week._

 _Eve seems quiet, but when she uses her vocal cords, a whole new person surfaces._

 _The soft melody reaches my ears and brings back memories of spring days._

 _When Eve finishes, I can't help but notice that Chris gives her a discreet hug._

 _What a lovely couple!_

 _I talk to Samantha Lakewood._

" _Hi, you can call me Sammie!" she laughs. "It's so nice to meet you. I love reading and solving riddles, and I'm definitely prepared for the tournament. Do you like Cauldron Cakes? They're the best!"_

 _Sammie seems like a sweet young lady._

 _OR IS SHE?_

 _Conversations with teachers reveal that Sammie is a young delinquent._

 _She has bruised many shins, punched many faces, and broken many, MANY, bones._

 _Sammie uses her "cute" personality to worm her way into people's hearts and leave them in a puddle of tears._

 _I interview Nicholas Orchard last._

 _He quickly describes his favorite hobbies: playing Quidditch, drawing, running, walking his dog, cooking, playing the guitar, juggling, woodworking, making soap sculptures, and writing poetry._

 _Nick certainly seems like a jack-of-all-trades._

 _OR IS HE?_

 _Nick's activities are interfering with his grades._

 _He received the lowest score possible on a History of Magic quiz last week, bringing his grade into the_ _negatives._

 _That wraps up my interview with the champions._

 _Will Mrs. Agreste's identity ever be revealed?_

 _Will Daisy move on?_

 _Will Richard get the punishment he clearly deserves?_

 _Will Chris show his true colors to the rest of society?_

 _Will Eve achieve her dreams of being a professional singer?_

 _Will Sammie injure yet another one of her peers?_

 _Will Nick ever catch up with the rest of his class?_

 _Will Marinette ever win Adrien's heart?_

 _Only I, Ernest Skeeter, can discover the answers to these enigmas!_

"That was the most ridiculous thing I've ever read," Alix deadpanned.

Marinette flipped to page seven.

She was winning the poll by fifty-five votes.

" _Only_ fifty-five? You deserve much more than that," Nathaniel murmured.

He tapped his newspaper with his wand and Marinette's one thousand six votes turned into one thousand seven votes.

"Chloe probably voted for herself dozens of times," Marinette sighed.

"Ay, ah wee yo wi-in," Alix shrugged, her mouth full of scrambled eggs.

"What?" Marinette asked.

Alix swallowed.

"At least you're winning," she repeated. "And Chloe couldn't have voted for herself more than once. Magical polls are bewitched to allow only one vote per witch or wizard."

"I wonder what Adrien thinks about this," Nathaniel said. "I mean, he doesn't have any say in the poll. A guy should be able to choose who he loves, right? I never realized how horrible it is for Adrien, all of those reporters interfering with and lying about his love life. That's why I don't like the _Daily Prophet_ 's celebrity gossip column."

"No one does, except for Chloe and her brainless herd of sheep," Marinette frowned.

"Breakfast is almost over, so we better get ready for class. Potions?" Nathaniel guessed.

"Nope, Herbology. Time to go feed more disgusting sludge to obnoxious flowers," Alix said.

"Mine's already four feet tall, but it's not going to bloom for another two weeks. I think we're going to raise another plant along with the laughblossom flowers. Professor Whipwind keeps on giving us hints about some sort of tree," Marinette added.

As they got closer to Greenhouse Three, a sickly-sweet scent clogged their nostrils.

"Why does it smell like caramel?" Nathaniel asked.

"You know what the fourth-years say about Professor Whipwind," Marinette said.

"If the air has a nice tang, the plant probably has fangs," they recited in unison.

Outside the greenhouse, Professor Whipwind was attending to a huge tree.

It would've been an entirely normal scene if the tree hadn't been on fire.

"Mari!" Alya shouted, sprinting towards the Gryffindor trio. "DID YOU SEE THE POLL?!"

The excited Ravenclaw tackled her best friend.

"I don't care about the rest of Ernest's lies, but this poll could spark something between you and Adrien!" Alya grinned. "And if his article doesn't work, the first task will _definitely_ bring you two together!"  
Marinette had completely forgotten that Adrien was her partner for the Triwizard Tournament.

"What if we have to look at each other?! What if we have to _talk_ to each other?! What if there's _physical contact?!"_ Marinette hyperventilated.

"Of _course_ there's going to be physical contact!" Alya scoffed. "Get yourself together, girl! He's here!"

"Hey, guys!" Adrien smiled. "Errr….why is that tree on fire?"

"Beats me," Alya said.

After everyone else arrived, Professor Whipwind cleared her throat.

"Each pair will raise an Infernum Stormus, commonly known as Whomping Willows," she announced. "They have three main defence mechanisms: setting themselves ablaze, smacking the offender, and creating lightning, which runs throughout its branches. I am splitting you into eight pairs or groups, as usual. Marinette with Bridgette, Adrien with Felix, Ivan with Lila, Chloe with Alya, Nathaniel with Mylene, Max with Juleka, Kim with Rose, and Nino with Sabrina and Alix. Everyone, please retrieve the seeds in Greenhouse Two."

The students shuffled over to the greenhouse, where eighteen enormous boulder-like seeds lay.

"How are we going to….?" Nino gaped.

"Are you a wizard or not?!" Alya shouted.

The others laughed while Nino hastily said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

They levitated the colossal Whomping Willow seeds to Professor Whipwind and discovered that she had created eight gigantic pits in the ground.

The students dropped the seeds into the pits and covered them with dirt by using a mixture of spells.

"Whomping Willows are easy to water. Errrr, to fire. You'll see what I mean," Professor Whipwind said.

She pointed her wand at Kim and Rose's seed. "Incendio!"

The seed ignited, as well as Kim's hair.

"Are you _mad?_ " Kim yelped, trying to find a bucket of water to stick his head in.

He dipped his head into a pail and emerged with his hair extinguished, but it was soaked in putrid Runespoor venom, Nogtail blood, and bubotuber pus- the preferred drink of laughblossoms.

"I think you should visit Madam Pomfrey," Professor Whipwind said. "Alix, work with Rose for this lesson."

Kim jogged to the hospital wing.

After everyone had set their seeds on fire, they fed their laughblossoms with some kind of sweet-smelling fertilizer.

 _Ignore the bones, ignore the bones, ignore the bones,_ Marinette thought as she poured the fertilizer into the plant pot.

"Was that thing a dragon scale?" Alya asked, holding the pot steady.

"Probably," Marinette shuddered.

After finding a dead mouse, a cat whisker, and God-knows-what-else in the fertilizer, Herbology was over.

The rest of that Thursday was generally unexciting, except for when Nathaniel's Invigoration Draught caused his hair to turn flamingo-pink during Potions.

After Transfiguration, which was the last lesson of the day, the champions received a letter apiece.

 _Meet me in Hallway Number Nineteen in five minutes! ~Ernest Skeeter_

Marinette and Adrien, who were relatively indifferent to the article, didn't know whether to laugh or gasp when they saw the other champions.

Chris had ten large stuffed dogs glued to him, the largest stuck on his head.

Eve and Daisy each had two bags, both of them overflowing with condolence letters.

Richard was absolutely disheveled: his left arm was caked with mud, his robes were tattered, and his hair was slightly burnt at the tips.

At a second glance, Marinette noticed that one of his shoes was missing.

Samantha actually looked stunning.

She was wearing makeup in just the right places, though her robes had pink ruffles at the hem, neckline, and cuffs.

Nick was covered in spitballs and had the word _LOSER_ written in ink on his forehead.

His hair matched his temper.

Nick's green-blue tresses had been replaced with red-orange spikes that resembled flames.

"What happened to _you_?" Adrien asked.

"What happened? What _happened_? ERNEST SKEETER HAPPENED!" Samantha snarled.

"I heard my name!" Ernest chuckled, carrying his golden top hat.

" _You,"_ Eve hissed.

"Yes, _me,"_ Ernest grinned. "I forgot my spectacular hat in Hogwarts, so I decided to drop by and see how my favorite champions are doing! Thanks to me, the interview was a huge success!"

"Because of your stupid article, I was jumped by a gang of Slytherins today! _Everyone_ gets a bad grade in History of Magic, it's the most boring class in the universe!" Nick spat.

"I was attacked by a mob of insane girls who all thought that we were in some kind of relationship! I am _not_ a playboy, thank you very much! Do you know how much begging it took to convince Tara not to break up with me?!" Richard yelled.

The commotion in Hallway Number Nineteen attracted a crowd of curious onlookers.

"I was called a 'puppy-loving baby boy' by seven people today!" Chris roared. "And a group of second-years magically glued these stuffed animals to me after Charms!"

"I received hundreds of pity cards!" Daisy shouted. " _Hundreds!_ My backpack's plastered with owl poop! _Do you know how hard it is to scrub it off, even with magic?!"_

"Ditto," Eve murmured.

"And I was manhandled by a bunch of spoiled brats who wanted to give me a makeover! 'Oh Sammie, we all knew you weren't a filthy tomboy!' 'Oh Sammie, do you like your new mascara?' When I'm finished with you, your face is going to be more black and blue than my eye shadow!" Samantha seethed.

The number of bystanders multiplied.

"They never handle it well at first," Ernest sighed. "But you'll be happy with the end result! Aren't you glad that I finally revealed the truth to the world?"

"THE TRUTH?" Samantha shrieked. "YOU WANNA KNOW THE _TRUTH?!_ I'M GOING TO PUT YOU IN THE INFIRMARY! _THAT'S_ THE TRUTH!"

She leapt at Ernest and gave him a swift kick in the shins.

The others joined in and the students who were watching started to cheer them on.

When Ernest got back up, Chris punched him in the face.

Richard and Daisy twisted Ernest's arm until it broke.

Eve also set his robes on fire.

And, for good measure, Nick knocked him out.

Marinette and Adrien slowly backed into the next hallway.

"We didn't see anything," Adrien firmly said.

"Yeah, we never saw the note from Ernest," Marinette smiled.

"But he deserved it," Adrien whispered.

"Deserved what? I have no idea what you're talking about," Marinette smirked.

They laughed as they parted ways.

 _Merlin's beard! I actually had a decent conversation with Adrien Agreste!_ Marinette thought.

 _If Ladybug never falls in love with me, maybe I could start something with Marinette,_ Adrien thought. _But my lady will fall for me one day. I just know it._

… **...**

The Slytherin vs Ravenclaw Quidditch match was postponed yet again because of the dangerously strong winds that Saturday.

Another refreshing, well-deserved Hogsmeade visit was scheduled for November 23rd, presumably to calm down the nervous champions of the Triwizard Tournament, as the first task would take place the next day.

The air was twice as frigid as their previous visit in October.

It was also Bridgette and Felix's first Hogsmeade visit, so Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Nino decided to spend the day with them.  
In fact, when the Ramhorns visits first saw the note about the visit, they didn't even know what Hogsmeade was.

"It's a village that's completely inhabited by wizards and witches," Alya explained.

"Trust us, you'll love it!" Adrien grinned.

The six students stepped inside Tomes and Scrolls.

"Hello, Adrien! You've brought more friends, and just in time, too! I received a new shipment of books just this morning," Ms. Zinnia smiled.

"We should probably research the creatures we have to face on Monday," Adrien said.

"Y-Yeah! We should!" Marinette stuttered, her mouth dry. "We have to defeat a Basilisk! Nothing new! It's been done single-handedly by a twelve-year-old, so we should be fine! Everything's going to be just dandy!"

 _Dandy? Argh, why must I be so cringeworthy?_ she inwardly groaned.

"Maybe Ernest was right about one thing," Adrien said.

 _Oh God oh God oh God oh God!_ Marinette thought. _Adrien knows that I have a crush on him! That's it, I'm moving to Greenland, where I'll never be seen again and hopefully he'll forget about everything and-_

"You definitely seem like a nervous wreck today," he continued. "So let's forget about the Triwizard Tournament and just have some fun, okay?"

Marinette nodded.

They pored over Ms. Zinnia's new shipment of books.

She had bought dozens of Muggle stories as well, so that _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ snuggled nicely between _Sleeping Beauty_ and _Around the World in Eighty Days._

Marinette, Adrien, Alya, Nino, Bridgette, and Felix ended up spending the entire morning in Tomes and Scrolls.

"Adrien, check this out! I found the ' _Hungry' Games_!" Nino snickered.

The Slytherin first-year blushed but picked up the book anyway.

Within the first thirty minutes of reading the book, Adrien started shuddering and making horrified facial expressions.

"How much bloodshed could there possibly be in one book?" Adrien asked.

"Ha, you haven't even gotten to the good parts," Nino grinned.

Meanwhile, Bridgette, Felix, and Marinette were arguing about which of Beedle the Bard's stories was the best.

" _The Tale of the Three Brothers_ teaches the wisest lesson," Marinette said.

"I like _The Fountain of Fair Fortune_ , because the love story is so beautiful!" Bridgette gushed.

"The most realistic one is the _The Warlock's Hairy Heart_ ," Felix muttered. "But I especially hated _Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump_ , it's the worst."

" _What_ was that last one called?" Alya giggled.

"We need to fully educate you in the ways of Beedle the Bard," Marinette said.

She pushed her best friend onto a plump red velvet armchair and dropped a thick leather book on her lap.

"Beetle the what?" Alya blankly asked.

Adrien looked up from _The Hunger Games._

"Beedle the Bard! He's the wizard version of Hands Catholic Andysen and the Brothers Grin," he explained.

"Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm," Marinette sighed. "You'll get it right _one_ day."

Nino's stomach growled loudly, so the group decided to head to the Three Broomsticks.

The chilly air made the journey feel much longer, but the six students managed to walk to the pub without being blown away.

Marinette's scarf, however, was not so lucky and it drifted out of sight.

"I know you're not a Slytherin like me, but take my scarf," Adrien offered.

"No! You should keep it, I'll be fine," Marinette said, her teeth chattering.

"You're a horrible liar. I'm not blind, I can see you shivering at this very moment," Adrien said.

He wrapped the green and silver scarf around her neck.

"Th-Thanks!" Marinette stuttered.

The Three Broomsticks felt as warm as the breath of a Blast-Ended Skrewt.

The six students all shed their coats, hats, earmuffs, scarves, mittens, and gloves, but Marinette just couldn't bring herself to remove Adrien's scarf.

In the middle of the pub, Alix and Kim had challenged each other to a dance-off, but the radio that they brought with them wouldn't work.

"Don't worry, I have my headphones," Nino said. "Which song do you want me to play?"

"Electric Heart by XY! It's ten times better than Jagged Stone's music!" Chloe shouted.

Everyone in the Three Broomsticks rebuked Chloe's decision.

"Sweat and Leather by Jagged Stone!" Ivan suggested.

"Aww yeah!" Kim whooped.

"Sweat and Leather!" Nino yelled into his headphones.

They blared the sound of Jagged Stone's electric guitar, and Kim and Alix started dancing.

Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins took sides.

"Come on, Felix! Wanna dance?" Bridgette giggled, trying to pull the reluctant Mystrik onto the makeshift dance floor.

"No," Felix muttered.

Bridgette paid no attention to his two-letter word of rejection and tried to twirl him.

"Marinette, do you want to dance?" Adrien asked.

The Gryffindor choked for the third time that week.

"Sure!" Marinette squeaked.

"After all, we'll need to practice for the Yule Ball," Adrien grinned.

The words slowly sank into Marinette's mind.

 _The Yule Ball! The Yule Ball! It's in a month and two days! How did I forget? How did I possibly forget? I don't know what I'm going to wear! I don't have a date! Since we're partners, is Adrien going to ask me out? MERLIN'S BEARD, WHAT IF HE ACTUALLY ASKS ME OUT?!_ Marinette internally panicked.

She soon learned that Adrien couldn't dance to save his life.

Honestly, even Lila and Chloe weren't the least bit jealous that Marinette was Adrien's temporary dance partner instead of one of them.

"What the heck are you doing?" Marinette laughed.

"The sprinkler!" Adrien responded. "I did some research, and this is how teenagers usually dance!"

"I have never seen something so horrifying. I'm scarred for life," Marinette deadpanned.

"Do you prefer Gangnam Style?" Adrien asked.

"Do I prefer _what_?" Marinette replied.

"Here, I'll show you!" Adrien enthusiastically said.

He attempted to wave his crossed arms around while jumping, but he utterly failed.

"Dude, are you _injured_?!" Nino howled with laughter.

"No, but I'll bring out my best weapon. Hammertime!" Adrien yelled.

"Alright, we've seen enough. We're abandoning you. Bridgette! Felix! Alya! We're leaving! Let's go to Honeydukes!" Marinette loudly said.

Adrien mock-gasped while Marinette led her friends out of the Three Broomsticks.

"We'll return your headphones later!" Alix shouted at Nino as he was pulled out of the pub.

He then arrived at the candy shop faster than the rest of the group by avoiding the crowds.

"Hey! How'd you get here so fast?" Marinette pouted.

"I took a short _cat, Purr_ incess," Adrien smirked, then immediately clamped his hands over his mouth.

Luckily for him, the clamor of the sugar-loving students in Honeydukes droned out Adrien's previous remark.

"What did you say?" Marinette asked.

"Errr….I just hope I'll be luckier with those Every Flavor Beans this time!" Adrien said.

"WHAT?!" Bridgette suddenly shrieked.

Everyone stayed silent for a second before resuming whatever they were doing.

"Are you okay?" Alya asked.

" _That_ person-" (the Joltcastle pointed an accusing finger at Felix) "-has _never_ eaten candy. Or ice cream. Or any form of dessert, for that matter."

"You have not lived life yet," Nino simply stated.

"Here, have a lollipop!" Bridgette grinned.

"Wait!" Marinette winced. "That's-"

Bridgette accidentally dropped the lollipop onto Felix's robes.

"-an Acid Pop."

A hole slowly burned its way through the black cloth.

Felix plucked the Acid Pop from his robes and gave it back to Bridgette.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he coldly said.

"At least try some chocolate!" Bridgette begged.

"For the last time-" Felix protested.

Nino snuck up from behind him and stuck a bar of Honeydukes' chocolate into his mouth.

Felix slowly chewed and his eyes widened.

"It's delicious!" he gasped. "What have I been doing my whole life?!"

He slammed four Galleons and a Sickle onto the counter and ordered two Pumpkin Pasties, five Chocolate Frogs, three Cauldron Cakes, a sugar quill, a few squares of fudge, and, to top it all off, six bars of chocolate.

After they bought their equal share of everything from toffee to exploding bonbons, they left the candy shop and watched a few demonstrations at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

The newest version of Atrocious Apparel, one of their most famous products, had been released that very Sunday.

House-themed winter gear with exciting changes lined the shelves.

The green and silver Slytherin scarves could morph into actual snakes and revert to their natural forms again with the keywords "serpent pride."

If you tapped the blue and bronze Ravenclaw earmuffs thrice with your wand, they grew eagle wings and flew.

The yellow and black Hufflepuff mittens turned your hands into badger paws if you rubbed them together for ten seconds.

The red and golden Gryffindor hats roared like a lion if you tugged on the pom-pom.

Needless to say, the enchanted articles of clothing were a big hit.

"Adrien, do you need a new scarf?" Nino teased.

"I don't want a snake coiled around my neck," Adrien shuddered.

"Forget your scarves, look at these fireworks!" Marinette gasped.

The staff of W.W.W. had organized a fireworks display in honor of the Ramhorns students.

An horse made out of aquamarine sparks galloped around the six students.

Bridgette laughed and chased the mare around the store until she almost crashed into a display.

"Love potions?!" Bridgette squealed.

"Oh no," Felix sighed.

"These Pygmy Puffs are so adorable!" Bridgette beamed.

She bought a pink Pygmy Puff and a bottle of love potion without a second thought.

"I'm going to name you XOXO! Hugs and kisses!" she cooed.

The six students stopped by at the Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes (Nino had to retrieve his headphones and Felix "forgot" to buy another bar of chocolate) before walking toward Hogwarts.

"I never asked. Where are you guys staying?" Adrien wondered.

"The Ramhorns students sleep in the Room of Requirement," Felix responded. "It's actually quite comfortable."

As soon as they entered Hogwarts, Marinette crashed into Mr. Agreste, sending his papers flying everywhere.

"I'm so sorry!" Marinette apologized.

She hurriedly picked up her idol's sketches.

There was one for each champion.

 _These must be for the tournament!_ Marinette thought.

Her eyes scanned the one that was for herself.

The outfit consisted off a dark red long-sleeved shirt with matching leggings and a golden dragon-leather tunic with matching boots.

She handed the papers back to Mr. Agreste.

"Thank you," he said.

"What did you see?" Alya whispered.

"The clothes I have to wear for the first task!" Marinette excitedly said.

During dinnertime, all of the champions, excluding Marinette and Adrien, brought a large stack of books to their tables.

Richard was so engrossed in _Dark and Dangerous Creatures of Europe_ that he unknowingly dipped his bread into his pumpkin juice and proceeded to chew it without noticing its strange flavor.

Suddenly, the crash of twenty metal crates being opened was heard by Tikki and Plagg.

There had been many charms cast upon the boxes so that human ears couldn't hear the loud noise, but kwamis could.

Humans couldn't hear the beasts crawling, slithering, and sprinting out of their cages.

They also couldn't hear the sound of the deadly hiss that came from the largest creature.

… **...**

Marinette expected to be woken up early for the first task, but surprisingly, she wasn't.

 _Maybe it starts in the afternoon,_ she thought.

But that wasn't the case, either.

"All classes shall be carried on in the usual fashion," Headmaster Fu announced.

 _That's odd,_ Marinette thought. _They couldn't have possibly forgotten about the Triwizard Tournament, so what are they planning?_

"Wait, what if _this_ is the first task? Are they secretly judging us?!" she panicked.

"No way! If the first task was happening right now, they'd announce it to the whole school! You know how public the Triwizard Tournament is," Alix said.

That day, the teachers deviated from their normal lessons and tried to drop hints about the first task without actually revealing what the champions had to do.

"Add ground Cornish pixie wings to get the best results for your Healing Elixir. Marinette and Adrien, this is _crucial_ information," Professor Mendeleiev said.

Adrien scribbled something on a piece of parchment.

"What's that?" Marinette whispered, dumping teal powder into her pewter cauldron.

"It's a list of things we might find in the first task," Adrien whispered back, stirring his potion.

He showed her the list.

 _Big, furry, red-eyed creature_

 _Basilisk_

 _Troll (maybe?)_

 _Cornish pixies_

"Where did you get the troll from?" Marinette asked.

"I overheard some third-years talking about it," Adrien answered.

"It could just be a rumor," Marinette frowned.

"You never know," Adrien shrugged.

"Now, if you actually followed the directions, the lavender aroma should-"

Professor Mendeleiev was interrupted when Nino tensed up and fell sideways.

"-make you woozy and possibly stun you, but the latter will happen _only_ if you add too many drops of pine bark essence. Ivan, can you please carry Nino to the hospital wing?" Professor Mendeleiev sighed.

Ivan nodded and picked up his fellow Hufflepuff.

After the rest of the students bottled and corked their potions, it was time for Herbology.

Like Professor Mendeleiev, Professor Whipwind diverged from the typical subject and taught the class about poisonous herbs.

"Watch out for Devil's Snare. If you're ever caught in it, _do not_ move. That is the biggest mistake you could make," she said.

Adrien added _Devil's Snare_ to the list, along with many other fatal plants.

Lunch brought many more books to each of the tables.

Care of Magical Creatures was also just as interesting as the previous classes.

Professor Otis taught the students about dealing with some of the most unpredictable animals in the Wizarding World.

Adrien nervously jotted down the names of the scariest creatures he'd ever heard about.

"The best way to deal with an Acromantula is by using the Erumpent Potion," Professor Otis said.

"What's the Erumpent Potion?" Marinette asked.

"It's a liquid that can explode on impact," Professor Otis responded.

He quickly wrote the potion ingredients on a spare piece of parchment and handed it to Marinette behind his back while Adrien added _Erumpent_ to the list.

In Charms, their last class of the day, Professor Bustier made the students practice defencive jinxes.

"Stupefy!" Adrien yelled.

Nino tensed up and fell sideways for the second time that day.

"Good job!" Marinette said.

As Professor Bustier walked past him, Adrien swore that he heard her mutter, "You'll need that spell for later."

After Charms was over, the champions were called to Gabriel Agreste's office.

"Why does my father need to see us?" Adrien asked.

"I have an idea," Marinette said.

They knocked on the door of Gabriel's office, but he wouldn't let them in.

Eve, Chris, Daisy, Samantha and Richard soon arrived.

"Where's Nick?" Richard wondered.

"Who knows? I don't think Professor Agreste is going to open the door until he gets here, anyway," Chris said.

"Maybe he's going to tell us what we have to do for the first task!" Daisy hopefully said.

"He won't," Richard dismissively said. "The teachers have been dropping hints, but they can't tell us what we have to do. They used Unbreakable Vows."

"There's no way that they used Unbreakable Vows!" Marinette gasped.

"So the Triwizard Tournament really is _that_ dangerous, huh?" Chris quietly said.

"Well, we can do this on our own!" Eve scoffed. "We don't need any hints. We just have to be prepared for anything and everything."

"We just have to defeat every creature they throw at us," Samantha determinedly said.

"I know what some of those creatures in the crates are," Adrien piped up.

He passed around the list.

"Trolls? A few eleven-year-olds defeated one, so this should be a piece of cake," Daisy said.

"The only thing we have to worry about is the Basilisk. At least it can't kill anyone. Riley looked into its eyes and she was fine," Adrien said.

Then, Nick joined his fellow champions, completely out of breath.

Today, his hair was greenish-yellow and his eyes were blue.

"Care…..of Magical…..Creatures…..was…...a disaster," he panted. "Professor Otis…..made us fight...,..Acromantulas."

Adrien removed a quill from his bag and added _Acromantulas_ to the list.

"That's one more thing we have to worry about," Marinette said.

At that moment, the door swung open.

"Hello!" Headmaster Freeburrow grinned.

"Why are we here? Are you going to tell us about the first task?" Daisy blurted.

"Unfortunately, the answer is no," Headmaster Fu said. "But Professor Agreste has presents for you! He designed what you're going to wear for the first task of the Triwizard Tournament."

Gabriel handed a bulky black bag to each of the champions.

"That's all?" Samantha deadpanned.

"Meet us outside of Hogwarts at six o'clock sharp. Good luck!" Headmaster Freeburrow said.

He ushered them out of Gabriel's office, ignoring their shouts of alarm.

"What do you mean, 'six o'clock?!'" Richard yelled.

"I'll make it simple for you. We only have two hours until the first task starts," Eve said.

"So we better get changed as soon as possible," Chris said.

They split up.

After twenty minutes, Marinette finally reached the Gryffindor Common Room.

She couldn't wait until she was a third-year and could Apparate; the path to her room was absolutely tiring.

"What's the first task?" Alix immediately asked.

She was writing a scroll about Jupiter and Mars for Astronomy.

"We still don't know," Marinette shrugged as she dumped the bag's contents onto the bottom cot of the bunk bed.

A pair of knee-high golden dragon-leather boots, a long-sleeved dark red cotton shirt, dark red spandex leggings, and a long short-sleeved golden dragon-leather tunic tumbled out of the bag.

"Can we order six more outfits like that for the Quidditch team?!" Alix gasped.

"I don't think Professor Agreste would be up to it. Errr….c-can you please look away while I change?" Marinette stuttered.

"Fine, but only if you tell me when the first task starts," Alix said.

"Six o'clock," Marinette replied.

"What? Less than two hours? I gotta help Nathaniel paint our sign, _now!_ Good luck!" Alix said, dashing out of the girls' room.

Marinette picked up the clothing.

She expected the dragon leather to be heavy, but it was as light as a feather.

She slipped on the shirt, leggings, tunic, and boots and re-tied her pigtails.

"Thank goodness there's a pocket," Tikki said.

"I know that I shouldn't be asking around for help, but what are the teachers planning?" Marinette asked.

"Something dangerous," Tikki said.

As the door creaked open, the kwami flew back into Marinette's pocket.

"Hey, it's 5:26! Everybody's heading out for the tournament!" Abby Johnson said. "We all made something for you!"

Marinette raised and eyebrow and followed her into the common room.

"Surprise!" the Gryffindors shouted.

They held a large red-and-golden banner with the words _GRYFFINDOR GLORY! MARINETTE FOR THE WIN!_

"Thanks!" Marinette blushed.

"No problem! It was all Nathaniel's idea," Alix grinned.

Marinette led the procession of Gryffindors outside of Hogwarts, where the judges and students waited.

"You're just in time for the Triwizard Tournament. We have fifteen minutes left," Adrien said.

He was wearing the same outfit as Marinette, but his tunic and boots were silver while his shirt and pants were dark green.

The other champions were also wearing similar outfits, each in their house colors.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her up onto the wooden podium where the champions and judges stood.

Professor Agreste, as well as each of the champion's parents, were also there.

"I forgot that you were going to be here!" Marinette said.

She hugged her parents.

"Good luck, sweetheart!" Sabine smiled.

"Remember this," Tom said. "If Adrien tries to something, y'know, _bad_ to you, just-"

"Dad!" Marinette scolded. "He wouldn't do anything of the sort!"

"If you say so, Mari. We'll be cheering for you!" Tom grinned.

"Welcome, ladies and gents, teachers and students, people of Ramhorns and Hogwarts, to the two hundred sixteenth Triwizard Tournament!" Mr. Wood, the Head of Magical Games and Sports, bellowed.

He had obviously used the Sonorus Charm on himself.

Everyone enthusiastically clapped and yelled.

"It is my honor to sponsor the three tasks of the Triwizard Tournament," Mr. Bourgeois added.

"So, who will win?" Mr. Wood continued, blatantly ignoring the Minister of Magic. "Slytherin and Gryffindor? Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw? Twynebud and Joltcastle? Or Mystrik and Vorrsteel?"

The houses cheered when their name was called.

"The scoring rules are simple. The first task is worth one hundred points, as are the other tasks. Each judge can give the partners in question twenty-five points. The following categories consist of five points apiece: bravery, skill, wit, loyalty, and reaction. Points _will_ be deducted if any of the champions cheat. Examples are using self-improving potions or spells. Attacking other champions is also not allowed. However, defencive, offencive, and healing spells or potions are authorized and encouraged when the champions find themselves in life-threatening scenarios," Headmaster Fu said.

"And now, I will explain what the champions must do for the first task. They must spend a night inside the Forbidden Forest, from six o'clock at night to nine o'clock in the morning. Last night, we released numerous beasts into the Forbidden Forest. Multiple charms have been placed on the forest so that the air will keep them awake and prevent them from becoming tired or hungry. There is also an magical dome that will keep the champions from escaping the forest until nine o'clock tomorrow. Staying at the very edge of the forest won't help, because it is highly likely that a beast shall corner them, thereby causing more peril than what is necessary," Headmaster Freeburrow said.

"Each pair shall also be given a list of what lurks in the Forbidden Forest. The champions are allowed to attempt to kill the beasts for self-protection, but an expert will use Side-Along Apparition to remove the beast from the forest before the champions can deliver the fatal blow. The beast will then be restored to full health, unless it is accidentally killed. When a beast is removed from the Forbidden Forest, its name will be magically scratched off of the list. The names of the pair who defeated the beast will be written next to its name. However, champions, you must remember that the object of the first task is not to injure the most animals, but to use your surroundings to your own advantage. The blind Basilisk will also give the two champions who defeated it five extra points. Any questions?" Headmaster Fu asked.

The champions shook their heads.

"Well, then, off you go!" Mr. Wood grinned.

He and the other judges led them to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Here is where we part. There is a small doorway into the forest, and it will close in one minute. Each pair shall receive a satchel containing all that they need to get through the first task. Good luck!" Headmaster Freeburrow said.

As soon as Adrien tried to walk into the forest, he bumped into an invisible wall.

"The doorway is a little more to the right, I think," Headmaster Fu chuckled.

He passed out four leather satchels.

Adrien embarrassedly took Marinette's hand and one of the satchels and led her into the dome.

They felt the headmasters' charms affecting them as soon as they entered the forest.

The dead grass was as green as a Slytherin prefect badge, the oldest of trees seemed youthful, and the air smelled like the sea, even though the Atlantic Ocean was hundreds of miles away.

The Forbidden Forest was alive, more alive than it had ever been.

"Do you know how to climb trees?" Adrien asked.

"Of course I do," Marinette said.

"Then let's go climb one! It's almost sunset, and I've never seen one from the top of a tree before!" Adrien laughed.

He scrambled up one of the tallest trees.

"Wait for me!" Marinette giggled.

She tightly gripped the lowest branch and pulled herself up.

Like a squirrel, she hopped from branch to branch until she reached the highest one.

"I didn't know you were so good at climbing trees!" Marinette mused.

"Believe it or not, my father was the one who taught me. Nature is his second most important inspiration for designs," Adrien said.

"What's his most important inspiration?" Marinette asked.

"Before she died, it was my mom. But now…"

Adrien's voice trailed off.

"...It's me."

"It makes sense," Marinette said. "He loves you, Adrien. Your father wanted to stop you from competing in the Triwizard Tournament because he doesn't want you to get hurt."

"I know," Adrien sighed.

They didn't say a word as they watched the sunset.

"I'm going to see what we have in the satchel," Adrien said.

He dumped out a small cube of metal (a collapsible cauldron), five empty glass flasks, a bottle full of sky-blue liquid, a wooden stirring spoon, and a scroll onto his lap.

The potion had a small tag attached to the cork, which read:

 _Basilisk Antidote. Pour half of the contents down the victim's throat for full recovery. No more, no less. ~Madam Pomfrey_

"We might as well read the scroll," Marinette said.

She removed the string that was tied around it.

Her skin became pale as she read the piece of parchment.

 _List of Animals for the First Task:_

 _5 Acromantulas_

 _1 Blind Basilisk_

 _50 Cornish Pixies_

 _2 Manticores_

 _2 Chimaeras_

 _2 Erumpents_

 _1 Graphorn_

 _1 Sphinx_

 _1 Demiguise_

 _10 Runespoors_

 _25 Doxies_

 _2 Trolls_

 _4 Occamys_

 _4 Teboes_

 _3 Boggarts_

"Nobody's defeated anything yet," Adrien noticed. "Wait, there's potion ingredients on the back!"

Marinette flipped the list over.

 _Healing Elixir (for poisonous bites and scratches):_

 _5 Drops of Pine Bark Essence_

 _1 Tablespoon of Ground Cornish Pixie Wings_

 _3 Spotted Toadstools_

 _2 Occamy Egg Yolks_

 _(Highly Explosive) Erumpent Potion:_

 _4 Erumpent Hairs_

 _5 Leaves of Devil's Snare_

 _2 Silver Occamy Eggshells_

 _1 Lump of Erumpent Dung_

"That's disgusting," Adrien recoiled.

He put the items back into the satchel.

"I hear buzzing," he said.

"You hear _what_?" Marinette asked.

"Buzzing," Adrien repeated.

They stayed silent, and Marinette heard a faint droning noises.

"It's getting louder," she observed.

A pair of small blue wings appeared from behind a leaf.

Marinette sighed with relief. "It's just a butterfly!"

"Butterflies don't buzz," Adrien stated. "Which means that we need to get out of this tree as fast as possible. Trust me. And don't scream, you'll attract the pixies."

He pushed her off of the branch they were sitting on.

Marinette plummeted forty feet to the ground.

When she landed, the ground felt like a pillow.

Adrien crashed next to her.

"I'm glad that my Cushioning Charm worked," he grinned.

"You gave me a heart attack!" Marinette shouted. "I thought I was going to-"

The buzzing became louder than a vacuum.

A swarm of fifty Cornish pixies dived from the tree, their electric-blue wings illuminating the night sky.

"It's my turn to lead," Marinette said. "They can't do anything without their wings. We can't burn their wings off, so we'll disintegrate them off and get the powder in the process. Deletrius!"

A Cornish pixie dropped out of the air.

"Deletrius!"

"Deletrius!"

"Deletrius!"

They continued to exterminate the blue pests until all of them were wingless.

A man Apparated next to Marinette and Adrien, summoned the Cornish pixies into his sack, and disappeared.

"That was a real workout," Adrien said.

He collected some of the disintegrated pixie wings and dropped them into two vials.

"Let's make two of each potion, just in case," he suggested. "By the way, where did you learn that spell? I've never heard of it."

"It's what my dad uses to make breadcrumbs," Marinette said. "Spotted toadstools are pretty easy to find. They're as common as blades of grass, but it's getting dark. Lumos!"

Light appeared at the tip of her wand.

They trampled through the Forbidden Forest and gathered six spotted toadstools along the way.

A squawk was heard in the distance.

"Occamys," Adrien whispered.

He checked his watch.

"It's 8:48 already," he added.

A nearby bush rustled.

A holographic Occamy emerged from the bush and circled a tree.

A real Occamy swooped down and chased the fake one while a figure clad in orange and gray stole two eggs from the Occamy's nest.

In a second, both the fake Occamy and the person were gone.

"That must've been Chris and Eve. Smart strategy," Marinette said. "The Occamy's provoked. We can't lure it away from its nest, so we have to face it head-on."

"Occamy wings are made of iron, so we can easily make them rust with water," Adrien said.

"But the eggs are frail, so if we get a droplet of water on them, they'll collapse. I wonder how many are left," Marinette said.

A snarky voice came from Adrien's pocket.

"Five."

"How do you know?" Marinette asked.

"I was cursed with…...with…..night vision! I was cursed with night vision when I was child, all because my stupid cat did _something that he wasn't supposed to do_ so he _will_ be punished. I mean, he _was_ punished," Adrien said, smacking his pocket on every other syllable.

"Okay then," Marinette unbelievingly said. "Let's approach the Occamy on three. One…...two…...three!"

They ran towards the Occamy's nest and simultaneously yelled, "Aguamenti!"

Marinette missed, but Adrien's jet of water hit the tip of the Occamy's wing.

It descended and scratched Marinette's cheek.

A few drops of blood trickled down her face.

"Aguamenti!" she snarled.

The Occamy's right wing rusted over and the bird plunged downwards, its serpentine body writhing in pain.

A man took the Occamy out of the Forbidden Forest by Apparition.

"Are you alright?" Adrien asked, taking four small silver eggs from the Occamy's nest. "Occamy scratches have a forty-five percent chance of being poisonous, depending on which talon-"

"I'll be fine," Marinette interrupted.

"If you say so," Adrien said, taking a few steps forward.

A vine slithered around his ankle and tugged him down.

"A pit of Devil's Snare," Marinette whispered. "Stay still."

She carefully picked ten leaves from the deadly plant while Adrien sank into the ground.

A minute passed.

Two minutes.

Three.

Five.

Seven.

Marinette began to pace.

It was a full eleven minutes before Adrien emerged from a shrub.

"Where were you?" Marinette indignantly asked.

"I was busy being swallowed by undergrowth," Adrien casually said. "The pit goes down for about a hundred feet, and then there were wooden stairs that led to the surface. It was pretty cool."

"Don't make me so worried," Marinette frowned. "You could've been seriously damaged, emotionally and physically."

"You make _me_ worried, too! I thought that the Occamy was going to slit your throat, or something _worse!_ " Adrien snapped.

His tone softened. "Sorry, I just don't want to see you suffering. Madam Pomfrey can cure our ailments with ease, but seeing one of your friends being attacked isn't fun to experience. Especially when you know that you could've helped them."

"We made a promise. In the tournament, I'll protect you, and you'll protect me. And I fully intend to keep that promise. Hopefully, so do you," Marinette said.

She was glad it was so dark that Adrien couldn't see the furious blush that blanketed her freckles.

"We have all of the ingredients for two batches of Healing Elixir, so let's brew it while we aren't surrounded by dangerous plants and creatures," Adrien said.

"We don't have the pine bark essence, though," Marinette reminded him.

"You'll see," Adrien winked.

Marinette silently swore that Adrien would be the one who ended up killing her if he kept doing things like that.

Adrien retrieved the ground Cornish pixie wings and the six spotted toadstools from the leather satchel and dumped them into the collapsible cauldron.

Marinette cracked the four silver Occamy eggs and the yolks slid out.

She placed the eggshells back into the satchel for the Erumpent Potion.

"Pine bark essence is water that's been summoned from the depths of a pine tree. But since my wand is made out of pine, it's basically the same thing," Adrien explained. "Aguamenti."

Ten drops of water dripped from his wand.

"It smells like lavender now, so it's ready," Marinette said, stirring the potion.

She poured the green Healing Elixir into two of the five glass flasks.

"One for each of us," Adrien said.

Marinette dipped her finger into the potion and rubbed her cheek.

The cut immediately healed.

Suddenly, several twigs snapped.

"What was that?" Adrien whispered.

A sound similar to that of a falling tree echoed throughout the forest.

"Whatever that noise came from, it's less than twenty feet in front of us," Marinette whispered.

They tiptoed towards the creature.

"It's a sleeping Erumpent!" Marinette gasped.

"Rock-paper-scissors. Winner plucks the hair, loser scoops the poop," Adrien whispered.

"Fine," Marinette grumbled.

After three rounds of rock-paper-scissors, Marinette yanked eight Erumpent hairs without arousing it.

Fifteen minutes later, she became impatient.

"What's taking you so long?" she whispered.

She walked around the Erumpent.

"No way, no how, am I _ever_ going to touch that. Not on _God's green earth,_ " Adrien deadpanned, pointing at the Erumpent's massive piles of feces.

Each lump of excrement was the size of a bowling ball.

"Just levitate two of them into the cauldron," Marinette said.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Adrien gagged, pinching his nose with his free hand.

"Does it even smell that- oh, it actually smells that bad," Marinette said, the dung's repugnant scent entering her nostrils. "Let's just get this over with."

Within twenty minutes, two bottles of Erumpent Potion had been brewed.

"It's past midnight," Adrien said, checking his watch. "I'm going to check the list of creatures."

He took the scroll from the satchel.

 _List of Animals for the First Task:_

 _-5- -4- 3 Acromantulas (Eve and Chris, Daisy and Richard)_

 _1 Blind Basilisk_

 _-50 Cornish Pixies- (Marinette and Adrien)_

 _-2- 1 Manticore-s- (Samantha and Nick)_

 _2 Chimaeras_

 _2 Erumpents_

 _-1 Graphorn- (Daisy and Richard)_

 _1 Sphinx_

 _1 Demiguise_

 _-10 Runespoors- (Eve and Chris)_

 _-25 Doxies- (Samantha and Nick)_

 _2 Trolls_

 _-4- -3- 2 Occamys (Daisy and Richard, Marinette and Adrien)_

 _-4 Teboes- (Eve and Chris)_

 _-3- 2 Boggarts (Eve and Chris)_

"And we're not even halfway through the night yet," Marinette sighed.

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

"HELP!"

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

"That sounds like Richard," Adrien whispered. "He's close by."

Daisy crashed through the trees, covered in spiderwebs.

"RICHAAAARRRRD!" she yelled, running after the source of thumping.

"Let's go! We have to help them!" Adrien shouted, dragging Marinette after Daisy.

After a minute of sprinting, the three champions were pulled into a bush.

"What-"

"Shhhh!" Nick interrupted them.

His eyes and hair were gray.

"Nick? What are _you_ doing here?" Marinette whispered.

"Well," Nick began, "Samantha's-been-captured-and-I-don't-know-what-to-do-so-please-please-help-me!"

"Woah, slow down. Where's Samantha?" Adrien asked.

Nick took a deep breath. "An hour ago, we were fighting off a Manticore and Samantha managed to defeat it, and then what I thought was a tree just grabbed her and stomped away. It turned out that it was a troll. _Two_ hungry trolls. They're about fifty feet from here."

"The same thing happened to Richard, I assume," Marinette said.

"Four champions can easily take out two measly trolls," Daisy determinedly said. "I want to form a temporary alliance to rescue Samantha and Richard. Those who agree, say I."

"I," Nick said at once.

"I," Adrien said.

"I," Marinette finished. "Then it's unanimous. But we'll have to come up with a plan, first."

After coming up with a strategy, the four champions quietly surrounded the trolls.

Both of them had ugly gray-brown skin, furry brown tunics, beady red eyes, and sturdy trees for clubs.

One of them, without a doubt, was the creature that Kim had seen in their Care of Magical Creatures class.

The second troll gave a grumbling sort of laugh as Samantha and Richard wriggled in the net that was suspended from the branch of a tree that stood over the trolls.

"Let me go, you good-for-nothing pieces of rubbage!" Samantha snarled.

"If you would just stop thrashing around, I could actually reach our wands," Richard said. "Accio wands! Accio wands!"

"Using a wandless Summoning Charm didn't work the last hundred times, so just quit trying," Samantha muttered.

"Do you at least have a sharp hairpin or something like that to sever the ropes?" Richard asked.

"If I _did_ , we wouldn't have been sitting here for the past hour, now, _would we_?!" Samantha frustratedly yelled.

"Accio wands. Accio wands!" Richard continued to whisper.

Their wands moved an inch towards them.

"See, it's working!" Richard triumphantly smiled.

"That was the wind, you idiot," Samantha deadpanned.

Adrien's head popped out of a bush and he waved to the captives.

The Ravenclaw and the Twynebud raised their eyebrows but remained silent.

"Diffindo," Adrien whispered.

The poorly-weaved net began to fray.

"Diffindo," Nick said.

The ropes fell apart, creating a small hole.

"Now it's time for the big finale. Sectumsempra!" Marinette said.

The first troll had been cutting up some poor deer, his back turned to the second troll.

A gigantic gash slit itself into the first troll's back.

It roared with anger, whipped around, and picked up his club.

The second troll picked up his own club in response.

Then, Daisy threw a bottle of Erumpent Potion at the trolls, which only made them even angrier at each other.

The two monsters brawled while Samantha and Richard calmly regrouped with their partners.

"Thanks," Daisy whispered.

"See you at nine o'clock, if not sooner," Richard grinned.

The two champions disappeared into the trees.

"Yeah, thank- hey!" Nick protested, his partner leading him away.

"It feels good helping them out," Adrien said.

Marinette nodded and read the list of beasts again.

 _List of Animals for the First Task:_

 _-5- -4- 3 Acromantulas (Eve and Chris, Daisy and Richard)_

 _1 Blind Basilisk_

 _-50 Cornish Pixies- (Marinette and Adrien)_

 _-2- 1 Manticore-s- (Samantha and Nick)_

 _-2- 1 Chimaera-s- (Eve and Chris)_

 _2 Erumpents_

 _-1 Graphorn- (Daisy and Richard)_

 _1 Sphinx_

 _1 Demiguise_

 _-10 Runespoors- (Eve and Chris)_

 _-25 Doxies- (Samantha and Nick)_

 _-2 Trolls- (Temporary Alliance: Marinette, Adrien, Daisy, and Nick)_

 _-4- -3- 2 Occamys (Daisy and Richard, Marinette and Adrien)_

 _-4 Teboes- (Eve and Chris)_

 _-3- 2 Boggarts (Eve and Chris)_

"We all got credit!" Marinette gasped.

"And there's only six more hours to go," Adrien added. "I wonder where the Basilisk is. I would love to earn those five extra points."

"Are you kidding? We are _not_ going to purposely seek out that creature," Marinette firmly said.

"I was joking. Well, maybe," Adrien said.

" _Maybe?!"_ Marinette demanded, flicking a spider off of her sleeve.

She tripped and fell on her hands.

"Eww, why are there spi- Acromantulas. I'm stuck," Marinette whispered. "Adrien, run."

"I'm not going to leave you. I'll protect you, and you'll protect me. That's how it works," Adrien said.

He tried to sever the Acromantula's web.

A spider the size of a bus walked toward them, its pincers twitching.

"I'm fighting that thing, whether you like it or not," Adrien said.

"No!" Marinette shouted.

"Expulso!" Adrien yelled.

The Acromantula was pushed a few yards back.

"Expulso!" Marinette yelled, still stuck in its web.

One of the Acromantula's legs was blasted away.

The beast made a noise of great rage and preyed upon Marinette.

 _I don't want to die like this,_ she thought. _I still have to confess to Adrien, I still have to defeat Hawkmoth, I-_

The Acromantula exploded.

A man Apparated into the forest, collected the giant spider's barely-alive body, and Apparated out.

"What? Why? How?" Marinette asked.

"You forgot that we still have the Erumpent Potion," Adrien grinned.

"Thanks. F-For saving my life," Marinette stuttered.

"You'd do the same for me," Adrien shrugged.

 _I would do that and more,_ Marinette thought.

She and Adrien strolled through the forest and learned little tidbits about each other.

Marinette's favorite color was pink and Adrien's was blue.

They both liked Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Adrien hated Every Flavor Beans while Marinette loved them.

"What's your favorite movie?" Adrien asked.

"Favorite movie? What's that?" Marinette asked.

"You don't know what a movie is?" Adrien gasped. "It's a Muggle form of entertainment. It's like watching a moving story. Actors pretend to be certain characters. It can be scary, romantic, funny, or action-packed. Or a combination of those categories."

"So it's a play," Marinette summarized.

Adrien shook his head. "But everything feels so much more _real_ in a movie. For example, _The Lion King_ is a story about taking responsibility for your kingdom. Maybe I can convince my father to let me invite you, Alya, and Nino to watch it over the summer!"

"That sounds cool!" Marinette said.

 _I MIGHT GO TO HIS HOUSE!_ she internally screamed.

"Less than four hours left. Sunrise is in an hour," Adrien said.

"Why do you keep checking the time?" Marinette asked.

"It's a thing that my mom and I used to do. This is her old watch, one of the few watches in the world that tell the correct time, down to the second. Whenever we saw other clocks, we would shout how many seconds or minutes off it was. Some people thought we were weird, but it was fun," Adrien smiled.

"The owners of expensive places must've been really annoyed," Marinette giggled.

"The funny thing is that we never explicitly told them to change their clocks. They really hated it when we saw the tiniest of imperfections. But everything has imperfections. In a good way _and_ a bad way," Adrien said.

 _Except for the moments when I'm with you. The imperfections in those occasions are never bad. Because of_ _you_ _,_ Marinette thought.

"I have a serious question for you," Adrien said.

"A-Ask away," Marinette stuttered.

"Do you hate me?" Adrien blurted. "You always stammer around me, and you were really pissed on our first day at Hogwarts, and you hide behind the farthest shelf when I go into the library to study, and you just avoid me in general, and I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry, that was a stupid thing to ask, and-"

"I don't hate you!" Marinette squeaked. "I could never hate you! _Nobody_ could ever hate you! I do those things for different reasons, that's all."

"That's great!" Adrien beamed. "You're great. You're a great friend, Mari."

Marinette froze. "Adrien?"

"Hmm?"

"Please tell me you're a Parselmouth."

"I'm not," Adrien confusedly answered. "Why- oh. Which direction is it coming from?"

"Behind us," Marinette gulped. "Turn around. Slowly."

They spun to face the Basilisk.

It was, at the very least, thirty feet long.

It had milky-white eyes and dark green scales as big as dinner plates.

The Basilisk opened its huge mouth to reveal fangs that were longer than Marinette's arm.

"Erumpent Potions don't work against Basilisks, unfortunately," Marinette whispered.

 _Think, Adrien, think,_ the Slytherin first-year thought. _What works against Basilisks?_

The creature circled them, scrutinizing its prey.

"Roosters!" Adrien happily shouted.

"Roosters?" Marinette deadpanned.

Adrien blushed. "One of my old professors taught me about Basilisks, and the crow of a rooster is fatal to it. We just have to Transfigure rocks and stuff into roosters!"

"You better be right!" Marinette said.

The Basilisk finally decided to attack.

Adrien scooped up Marinette bridal-style and leapt out of the Basilisk's way, narrowly dodging its fangs.

"You can let me go now," Marinette nervously laughed.

Adrien carefully put her down and (unsuccessfully) turned a dead branch into a rooster.

The branch, which now had chicken feet and wings, bumped into a tree.

"We have to keep trying!" Marinette said, hopping over the Basilisk's tail.

She Transfigured a rock into a chicken.

"That's a hen, not a rooster!" Adrien pointed out.

"It's not like your mutations are any closer to a real animal," Marinette huffed.

"I'm doing my best," Adrien protested. "There! That's a rooster, right?"

"Do I _look_ like a chicken expert?!" Marinette frustratedly asked.

"I think it's a rooster. I don't know, it could be a turkey or-"

"ADRIEN! Behind you!" Marinette screamed.

The world seemed to pause as the Basilisk's fangs penetrated Adrien's dragon-leather armor.

The grass stopped swaying, the wolves stopped howling, and Adrien became completely motionless.

A small puff of Marinette's breath, a frosty, barely visible, white cloud, escaped her lips.

Time unfroze while Adrien collapsed, a dark stain growing on his left shoulder.

Marinette didn't even notice that it was sunrise and Adrien's rooster crowed, killing the Basilisk on the spot.

For the Gryffindor first-year, all that mattered, all that existed, was the fact that Adrien was hurt and she could've prevented it from happening.

She leapt over the Basilisk's dead body and kneeled next to Adrien.

She frantically dumped out the satchel's contents, uncorked the Healing Elixir, and poured all of it onto Adrien's shoulder.

His wound wasn't improving, so she spilled her own bottle of Healing Elixir onto his injury.

Adrien's skin spread over the gash, but he remained unconscious.

And it was there, in a small clearing of the Forbidden Forest, that Marinette cried next to Adrien for the three hours it took for him to awaken.

"Ma….Mar…..Mari...what happened?" Adrien groaned.

"The B-Basilisk," Marinette sobbed. "It- it- hurt you, and it w-was all m-my f-f-fault-"

Her statement sparked something in Adrien.

"It wasn't your fault! It was mine, okay? Don't put yourself down like that. It was my fault for not being careful enough. Don't blame yourself. You worry me more than any dumb Basilisk fang. Your tears make me cry more than the sight of my own blood. You-"

" _The first task of the Triwizard Tournament has ended! I repeat, the first task of the Triwizard Tournament has ended! Champions, please exit the Forbidden Forest as soon as possible."_

"It-It's over?" Marinette sniffled.

"It's over," Adrien nodded.

They left the forest hand-in-hand.

… **...**

"Here are the results of the first task!" Mr. Wood announced. "In fourth place, we have Nicholas Orchard of Joltcastle and Samantha Lakewood of Twynebud with seventy-five points!"

The Joltcastles cheered while the Twynebuds grumbled.

"In third place, we have Daisy Trillkey of Hufflepuff and Richard Weller of Ravenclaw with eighty-three points!" Mr. Wood continued.

The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws clapped.

"In second place, we have Marinette Dupain-Cheng of Gryffindor and Adrien Agreste of Slytherin with eighty-five points, plus the extra five points for defeating the Basilisk, which makes ninety points!" Mr. Wood shouted.

The Gryffindors and Slytherins, along with Marinette and Adrien's classmates, cheered.

"And in first place, we have Christopher Sterling of Vorrsteel and Eve Hendriksen of Mystrik with ninety-one points!" Mr. Wood yelled.

The Vorrsteels and Mystriks went wild.

"That concludes the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Well done!" Headmaster Fu smiled.

The champions' parents, excluding Mr. Agreste, congratulated them.

Gabriel wordlessly strolled to his son and hugged him.

That hug said so many things to Adrien.

 _You were so brave._

 _I'm proud of you._

 _I love you._

And, for the first time in years, Adrien felt like everything was okay again.

… **...**

 **Yeah. I know. It's been over a month. I'm sorry. Just know that Chapter 9 will include Ladynoir and some Bridgette x Felix disguised as Adrienette! You'll see what I mean. ;P**


	10. Preparation For A Disaster

**Let me respond to haylee's comment about Apparition, first:**

 **Have an internet cookie for being the first one to notice! I thought it was hilarious how Hermione was so frustrated that nobody read** _ **Hogwarts, A History**_ **so I decided to add Apparition into the story to see who would notice. Congrats!**

 **The regular author's note:**

 **So, I'm going to stop telling you about future chapters because I don't even know when some chapters are going to be uploaded. Enjoy some Yule Ball hype.**

… **..**

 _ **Chapter 9: Preparation For A Disaster**_

 _Stage 1 of the Yule Ball Blizzard: Insanity_

It was Tuesday, December 2nd, when the scroll was pinned onto the notice board.

 _Dear students,_

 _The Yule Ball shall take place on Christmas Day, from eight o'clock in the evening to midnight. The event will be held in the Great Hall. Everyone, from first-years to fourth-years, is permitted and encouraged to attend the ball. You may also bring a date. The champions' presence is_ _mandatory._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Headmaster Fu, Headmaster Freeburrow, and the staff of Hogwarts_

Needless to say, all forms of peace disappeared completely.

That was the first stage of what was known as the Blizzard, the twenty-odd days leading up to the Yule Ball.

The first stage was named Insanity, and rightly so.

For an entire day, nothing, _nothing,_ could escape the Blizzard's grasp.

The teenagers of Hogwarts and Ramhorns didn't really care about the personal details of the Yule Ball (for now).

Nobody mentioned dates, dancing, or clothes.

Just the simple thought that the Yule Ball _existed_ and _was actually going to happen_ excited them.

The professors gave up all hope of possibly tranquilizing the students and let them talk during the school day.

"Can you believe it?! The party of the year! Man, this is gonna be _sick!_ I'm going to ask Headmaster Fu if I can DJ for an hour," Nino grinned.

"I heard that Jagged Stone's going to play at the Yule Ball," Marinette added.

"If he's playing, he's going to have to crash the party. Chloe's father, no surprise there, is paying for the whole Yule Ball, and you know what that means," Alya said.

"XY's going to be there and I won't get to DJ," Nino sighed.

"Since you're a Slytherin, Adrien, you could probably convince Chloe to choose Jagged Stone over XY. Hint, hint," Alya whispered.

"I'll try," Adrien hastily said.

He walked over to Chloe.

"So, uhhhhh, about the music for the Yule Ball-"

"I know, Adrikins, your girlfriend already has everything figured out! I'm going to ask my daddy to hire XY!" Chloe smiled.

"Oh...okay….uhhhhh," Adrien blankly said.

"Don't be a pushover!" Nino mouthed.

"Maybe you could hire Jagged Stone instead ?" Adrien said. "I mean, I would love it if you did that. And maybe let Nino DJ for an hour, too?"

Chloe thought it over for a second. "Anything to make my Adrikins happy! And take your time with your date proposal. I'm sure your going to make your profession of love for me very romantic and public!"

The last word came out in a slightly hostile way.

"Good luck. You're officially DJing at the Yule Ball," Adrien grinned.

"Thanks, buddy," Nino said. "And, speaking of which, it's time for round three of the Triwizard Tournament bets."

"There are rounds? As in rounds, plural?" Marinette asked.

"Of course!" Alya said. "I still don't know how Alix and Kim managed to set up the official betting rounds so quickly, but I won't question them. There's the champion bets, the first task bets, the Yule Ball date bets, the riddle bets, the second task bets, the combined score bets, and the bets on who's gonna win the whole shebang."

"I don't think it's right to bet on who's going to ask who to the dance. Most people are going to go as friends, anyway," Adrien said.

"Rule number one of the Blizzard is that you don't mention the other stages before they happen. This is stage one. Don't skip to stages three and four yet, or else it's going to be a disaster," Nino said.

"Yeah, e-especially since it's you, A-Adrien," Marinette stammered.

Adrien blinked. "Stages? Did I miss something?"

"According to Max's calculations, school parties have five stages, the first one being Insanity," Alya explained. "He told us just an hour ago in Potions. Don't you remember?"

"I….errrrr….I fell asleep for a minute or two," Adrien sheepishly admitted.

"Dude, you were out like a light for the whole lesson. You're lucky that Professor Mendeleiev actually likes you. If _I_ dozed off, I would've gotten a month's worth of detentions," Nino said.

"Insomnia?" Marinette guessed.

"I _wish_ ," Adrien exasperatedly said. "The Slytherin boys' dorm is torture. Kim's snoring broke the Silencing Charm we put on him. _Broke it._ You'd think an Erumpent got loose. And Kim drags the Quidditch team to the pitch at the crack of dawn, three days a week. I haven't slept for two days."

"You should take a nap," Marinette suggested.

"Alright," Adrien yawned.

Within a minute, he was out cold.

"Poor guy," Marinette lamented.

"I say we draw a mustache on him," Nino piped up.

Alya rolled her eyes. "I say we _don't_."

…

 _The Next Day_

Nobody knew who first came up with the idea.

Somebody thought it would be cool if it happened.

So, what did they do?

They whispered the idea of it to their friends, and their friends whispered it to _their_ friends.

By the time the last lesson of the day ended, everyone in Hogwarts wanted it to happen.

It _,_ an idea in the morning, had become a demand in the afternoon, in a short span of seven hours.

It was whispered about, talked about, but it wasn't really official.

So, what did Alya do?

She, by all means, made it official by pinning a note underneath the notice for the Yule Ball right after dinner.

 _Dear Ladybug and Cat Noir,_

 _Could you please, please,_ _please_ _make a guest appearance at the Yule Ball? You could even dance beside the champions! Your fans would love to meet you!_

 _From, Alya Cesaire (devoted editor of The Ladybulletin)_

Similar notes appeared during the next twenty-four hours.

Before everyone knew it, pieces of parchment requesting the superheroes' presence spread across the entire notice board, burying posters for the chess club and schedules for future Quidditch practices and games.

(Ravenclaw had one win, Gryffindor had two wins, as did Slytherin, and Hufflepuff was stuck with a grand total of zero wins.)

Argus Filch was not pleased with the fact that he had to remove two hundred seven scrolls from the notice board.

So, what did the students do?

They rewrote their pleas to meet Ladybug and Cat Noir and stuck them around the Yule Ball notice again.

But this time, they used Sticking Charms.

Some had even used Permanent Sticking Charms.

Mr. Filch scavenged the classrooms until he found the largest scroll possible.

An hour afterward, a new banner with shaky red uppercase letters covered the notice board.

 _DEAR HEADMASTER FU,_

 _WE NEED A NEW NOTICE BOARD. I ALSO NEED A RAISE._

 _SINCERELY,_

 _ARGUS FILCH_

Later that day, Headmaster Fu answered Filch's petition with a raise and two new notice boards, which were both plastered with letters not even four hours later.

… **..**

 _Stage 2 of the Yule Ball Blizzard: Awkward Waltzes_

During Herbology, Max sent a note to his classmates announcing the start of stage two.

Kim was the last one to receive the piece of paper.

He crumpled it up and tossed it to his Whomping Willow, which the sapling immediately burned.

Kim's sullen attitude (and Adrien's noticeable lack of sleep) was most likely the result of Slytherin's loss in the Slytherin vs Ravenclaw game on the previous Saturday.

"You're doing great!" Professor Whipwind smiled. "The laughblossoms are in full bloom. Well done!"

After class, she ushered the students to Professor Bustier's classroom.

All of the desks and chairs were missing.

"Since the Yule Ball is in nineteen days, I volunteered to teach you the beautiful art of ballroom dancing," the Charms teacher grinned.

Now that the burden of romantic tension hung in the air, the students felt rather uncomfortable, to say the least.

The girls were blushing messes and the boys tried to look away.

Adrien feverishly scratched the nape of his neck and pretended to be extremely interested in a dark stain on the ceiling.

"Doesn't that one look like a duck?" he mumbled.

"No, I see a four-leaf clover," Nino murmured.

"Are you blind? It's obviously a muffin," Max whispered.

Kim shook his head. "Looks like a guitar to-"

"And now, the _boys_ will perform the step sequence I just taught to the class," Professor Bustier interrupted. "Five, six, seven, eight!"

Adrien, Nino, Kim, Max, Nathaniel, and Ivan attempted to do some kind of flamenco-ballet-foxtrot fusion while the girls laughed uncontrollably.

Felix, who had actually been listening, stood perfectly still.

"It's nice to know that you haven't been paying attention," Professor Bustier said. "I was merely telling you that you can choose your partners for this lesson."

Mylene and Ivan clung together.

"Adrikins, we can practice our slow dancing!" Chloe cooed.

"I'd rather not," Adrien muttered.

"Hmmm, I wonder who could _possibly_ be his partner," Alya said.

"Don't you-" Marinette yelped, but it was too late.

The Ravenclaw pushed her into Adrien's arms.

"Oh...uhhh…...hi?" Marinette squeaked.

Professor Bustier played a waltz on an old phonograph.

"I guess we're partners," Adrien grinned.

"Put a hand on your partner's waist and hold their other hand," Professor Bustier instructed.

 _Argh, why are my palms so sweaty?_ Marinette thought as she grasped Adrien's right hand with her left hand.

"One partner steps to the right and the other steps to the left," Professor Bustier continued.

"Quit stomping on my feet, peasant!" Chloe shrieked at Lila.

"It's not like I even wanted to be your partner in the first place," Lila snarled.

"Girls!" Professor Bustier scolded.

Chloe and Lila continued to bicker.

"Errr...am I doing this correctly?" Marinette asked. "You seem like you know what you're doing. I mean, you _do_ know what you're doing. My parents cater at Mr. Bourgeois's parties, and you're at most of them. I've seen you dance with some girls on the dance floor."

 _Merlin's beard, that made me sound like a stalker!_ Marinette internally cringed.

"You're doing great!" Adrien said. "My ballroom dancing lessons really paid off, then, if you're impressed. Can I twirl you?"

"Sure!" Marinette smiled.

She spun as gracefully as a ballerina.

"Are you sure that you haven't had lessons?" Adrien mused.

"I'm only using what I learned from those snobby aristocrats," Marinette said. "It's just a simple one-two-three pattern. There's not much to it."

"It took me years to stop tripping on people's toes. You're a natural," Adrien complimented her.

 _Yeah, a natural at losing the ability to function properly around you,_ Marinette thought.

She shifted her gaze over to Chloe and Lila.

Luckily, they were on the other side of the classroom.

"Are you really going to ask Chloe out to the Yule Ball?" Marinette nervously whispered.

"I'm certainly not planning to," Adrien said. "It's becoming increasingly difficult to tell her that I'm not romantically interested in her. We've been friends all of our lives, and I'd like to keep it that way. Asking people to the Yule Ball is hard, but rejecting them is twice as hard. Every guy in Hogwarts thinks about who and how they're going to ask day and night, but I don't mind going single. Or with a friend. Or maybe-"

He thought about Ladybug for a split second, and how she probably had a hundred really hot, handsome guys throwing themselves at her, each begging to be her date.

His eye twitched.

"-never mind."

Marinette felt like a burden had been lifted off of her shoulders.

 _Adrien was considering the thought of bringing a friend._

She qualified as a friend.

"But enough about my daring dilemma. Since you're a prefect, you're in charge of the one of the committees. Which one did you sign up for?" Adrien asked.

"Decorating," Marinette responded as he twirled her again. "A bunch of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff girls signed up, and they've been super helpful with the whole thing. But there are two Ravenclaw girls who keep on arguing about the theme of the Yule Ball. Is the Yule Ball even supposed to _have_ a theme?"

"As long as we don't end up dressing like horseboys, my father will be glad with whatever they pick," Adrien said.

" _Cow_ boys," Marinette giggled. "You need to take Muggle Studies."

"No I-"

"Listen to the prefect, for crying out loud," Alya said, gently rocking to the monotonous song with Nino.

"Next year, I'm going to steal your executive courses application and enroll you in Muggle Studies _myself_ if you don't join," Nino joked.

The Hufflepuff boy and the Ravenclaw girl waltzed away (literally).

"Go with turquoise and cream for the decorations. That's my advice," Adrien said.

Marinette bit her bottom lip. "I'll see if I can convince them."

After fifteen more minutes of dancing, the lesson was over.

"How many more sessions like that do we have to go through? I might get blisters," Nino groaned.

"There are three left. You'll survive," Alya said.

"I'm going to do my homework now," Adrien declared.

"Homework? On a _Friday?"_ Marinette gasped.

"For shame," Nino chided. "This is the time to let loose! It's almost Christmas, and it _has_ to snow. I have to teach Adrien how to have a proper magical snowball fight."

"Snowball fights aren't proper if you shove snow down people's backs," Marinette giggled.

"That was one time!" Nino argued.

"If you shove snow down my back, just know that I'll put ice cubes in the place where the sun doesn't shine," Alya smirked.

"No thank you," Nino shuddered.

They sat down at their usual library table.

Adrien dumped a few blank scrolls, two quills, and an inkwell onto the table.

"Eh, I might as well get started on that Transfiguration essay, too," Nino said. "What do we have to write about, exactly?"

"We have to choose a Transfiguration professor from Hogwarts and explain how their discoveries impacted the Wizarding World," Adrien said. "I might do Albus Dumbledore. He's one of the greatest wizards that ever existed, after all."

"Dibs on Minerva McGonagall!" Marinette announced.

"That's not fair!" Nino protested. "We should at least draw str-"

"Who the bloody hell is Minerva McGonagall?" Alya asked.

Marinette and Nino's jaws dropped open.

"I did _not_ just hear that," Adrien deadpanned.

"Professor McGonagall is only the greatest Transfiguration teacher overall. Hands down," Marinette stated. "She outlived most of her students and had the nerve to give detention to _Harry Potter._ And she was Head of Gryffindor, too."

A second-year Hufflepuff girl strolled into the library.

"Hey, Vivian! Did the owls deliver the enchanted streamers yet?" Marinette grinned.

"Nope. Headmaster Fu says that he wants to see you," Vivian said.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," Marinette promised.

She walked through the hallways and knocked on the door of Headmaster Fu's office.

"Hello, Marinette. Long time no see," Wayzz greeted her.

"Hi!" Tikki chirped.

"What do you need to talk about?" Marinette asked.

"I've already discussed this problem with Cat Noir, and he said that he'll wait to hear your opinion on the ordeal," Headmaster Fu said. "You're most likely aware of the fact that all of Hogwarts wants to see Ladybug and Cat Noir at the Yule Ball. However, you have to be there as Marinette and Cat Noir most also be there in civilian form for classified reasons. How are we going to tell the public that Ladybug and Cat Noir won't arrive?"

"I really want to be there for Alya. Everyone would be so disappointed! I can't _not_ attend the Yule Ball as Ladybug. We'll come up with something, won't we, Tikki?" Marinette worriedly said.

"Marinette," Tikki softly began, "You don't have to say yes to everything. Your life is crazy enough. You're already struggling with your grades and the amount of sleep you get. Alya's your friend, she'll understand if you can't come."

"I'll talk to Cat Noir," Marinette decided. "I don't know if he's going, but _I'm going._ As Marinette and Ladybug."

"You don't have to do this to yourself!" Tikki objected.

"It's her choice," Wayzz calmly said.

"And I choose to go to the Yule Ball as Marinette and Ladybug," Marinette resolved.

"Very well," Headmaster Fu sighed. "Good luck fulfilling the positions of both personas at the same time. I'll post a letter on the notice board about a meeting between you and Cat Noir on top of the North Tower at 10:30 tonight. Does that suit your schedule?"

Marinette nodded. "Thank you. I'll only seek your help when there are no other options."

"Spoken like a true Ladybug," Wayzz remarked as Marinette left Headmaster Fu's office.

… **..**

Adrien slipped out of the Slytherin Common Room as quietly as a mouse.

Or a cat, in his case.

"Are you going to see your girlfriend?" Plagg teased.

"She's not my girlfriend," Adrien muttered. "Well, not _yet_. Plagg, claws out!"

"So, who's this girlfriend that Plagg, that cheese-loving little brat, was talking about?" Merlin whispered.

Cat Noir nearly had a heart attack.

"Why are _you_ still awake?" he asked.

"I'm a painting. I sleep whenever I want. I'm awake whenever I want. Makes no difference to me," Merlin said. "And let me repeat my question. Which fair maiden do you wish to woo?"

"Ladybug!" Cat Noir blurted. "I'm keeping her waiting, so I have to go-"

"You remind me of the Cat Noir of my time," Merlin chuckled. "Lancelot loved his Ladybug, Guinevere, with all his heart, and they would meet in the gardens every other evening. They were a lovely couple-"

"We can chat later!" Cat Noir interrupted.

"May your meeting with Ladybug be full of romance! Remember, I also have the ability to legally seal your love with marriage-"

"Shhhhh!" Cat Noir hissed. "You're going to wake up the _Ravenclaws,_ and they're on the other side of Hogwarts! Now, I really _must_ be off!"

He scampered away from the warlock's portrait and climbed out of a window, only to see Ladybug swinging her legs from the top of the North Tower.

"There you are!" she impatiently said. "This is really important. We both want to be at the Yule Ball as our superhero selves, right?"

"Of course!" Cat Noir agreed.

"But I have to be there in my civilian form…..for…... _reasons_ , and according to Headmaster Fu, you have to be at the ball in your civilian form too. How are we going to do this?" Ladybug questioned.

Cat Noir's face fell. "Oh…..I….I never thought about this. Crap, how are we going to do this?! I should've looked be _fur_ I leaped!"

"Even when we're serious, you still have to insert a pun into everything you say," Ladybug murmured.

"I'm going to run across the rooftops," Cat Noir said. "That's when I do my best thinking. Do you want to join me?"

"I'm not really up for-"

"It'll help me come up with an idea faster!" Cat Noir grinned.

"As if," Ladybug snorted.

Cat Noir grabbed her yo-yo and sprinted across the towers of Hogwarts.

"I need that!" Ladybug shouted, chasing her partner. "What you're doing is plain _dangerous!_ "

"That's the point!" Cat Noir laughed, sprinting along the roof's ledge.

"Give it back!" Ladybug childishly whined.

"Make me!" Cat Noir responded.

"I never said yes to this!" Ladybug argued.

"Your eyes did," Cat Noir said.

Ladybug paused. "My eyes?"

"Yeah, your eyes," Cat Noir smiled. "They sparkle when you're happy, they get dark when you're angry, they glow in the moonlight, and they become dull when you're sad. Nobody could ever have your eyes, not your parents, not your children, not even someone who drank Polyjuice Potion. You- Wait! That's it!"

"That's _what_?" Ladybug asked.

"Polyjuice Potion!" Cat Noir cried out, shaking her shoulders.

"Why do you have a sudden obsession with Polyjuice Potion?" Ladybug demanded.

"That's how we're going to go to the Yule Ball as civilians and superheroes!" Cat Noir excitedly yelled.

"That's actually not a half-bad idea," Ladybug mused. "Well done, kitty."

"We'll need to find someone we trust, first. We'll tell them some believable excuse for why we can't go to the Yule Ball. Then, we'll convince them to drink the Polyjuice Potion, and there you have it! Ladybug, Cat Noir, and our civilian selves all in one room," Cat Noir concluded.

"It's not that simple," Ladybug said. "The Polyjuiced people have to resemble us so that if they begin to change back, no one will notice. They also have to be people that nobody will miss at the ball, people that don't have many friends. We also have to gather enough ingredients for four hours."

"I'm sure that the teachers won't mind if we raid the classrooms for ingredients," Cat Noir said. "I'll pay for the things we stole, anyway."

"How?" Ladybug retorted. "Some of those things are _ridiculously_ expensive."

"Money's not an issue for me," Cat Noir quietly said.

"If you say so," Ladybug said. "Now that we've got the solution to our problem, we'll need to work out some details. I'll meet you on Thursday to gather the ingredients. Same place, same time. See you soon!"

She snatched her yo-yo from her partner's waist and swung into an open window.

"My lady!" Cat Noir shouted.

Ladybug's face appeared from the darkness of the tower's interior.

"Hmmmm?"

 _This is it,_ Cat Noir thought. _There's no going back. I'll ask her to be my date to the Yule Ball. It's just one question, get on with it!_

"I…..well….I've been w-wondering if….if… Do you have a pet owl?" he stuttered.

"Umm, yeah," Ladybug confusedly said. "Why are you asking?"

"No particular reason," Cat Noir sighed. "Good night, Bugaboo."

 _She deserves more than a simple question,_ he thought. _I need to make it spectacular for her._

…

Alix's head popped down from the top bunk.

"What's up, Mari?" Alix asked. "You've been really stressed lately. Is it because of Quidditch? I know we lost the match against Ravenclaw over the weekend, but don't sweat it. We'll just have to work harder."

"No, it's not that," Marinette hesitantly said.

"Well, _something's_ bothering you, and if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'll be awake if you need-"

"Be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!" a nearby Gryffindor girl whined.

"Good night," Alix whispered.

Within five minutes, Marinette heard soft snoring from the bed above her.

Unlike her bunkmate, Marinette stayed awake for the whole night.

She had already memorized the ingredients she and Cat Noir needed to "borrow" for the Polyjuice Potion.

She just had to figure out _who_ she could convince to drink it.

 _It can't be Alya,_ Marinette thought. _Mylene and Ivan are going to go together, even if he hasn't asked her out yet. I'm almost sure that Alix will go with Kim because of some stupid dare. Rose and Juleka will be looking for each other. Sabrina, Chloe, and Lila are all out of the question. None of the girls from the Quidditch team will agree, either._

 _Who?_

 _Who can I trust?_

 _I'm forgetting someone._

 _I know I am…_

 _Maybe…_

 _I…_

 _Should…_

 _Sleep..._

…

…

…

…

…

…

 _..._

"Bridgette!" Marinette grinned.

"Huh?" Alix sleepily asked.

"Sorry, it's nothing. Go back to sleep," Marinette blushed.

"M'kay."

Alix dozed off again.

 _Bridgette,_ Marinette thought. _It's perfect! She's fairly new, she hasn't got many friends, no one's going to notice she's not there, except for maybe Felix, but he won't get overly suspicious. She looks like me, too! But…..How am I going to ask her to go as me?!_

… **..**

 _Stage 3 of the Yule Ball Blizzard: Advanced Potions_

The aroma of different concoctions filled the hallways of Hogwarts.

They could cause all sorts of results, like utmost hatred or an unblemished face.

The potion that there was the most of created the most powerful force in the universe.

 _Love._

Yes, this was the start of stage three.

Weasleys' Wizard Weasley's love potions went out of stock as soon as they appeared on the shelves.

The poor maidens who didn't have W.W.W.'s high-end potions turned to the last resort, the deadliest choice of them all.

They made their own.

Now, student-made love potions only have two results.

They either work.

Or they _don't._

The aftermath is always, _always,_ disastrous in both situations.

When a love potion is brewed incorrectly, something much worse than fake romance happens.

There have been tentacles.

There have been long, beards that are impossible to shave off.

There have been eternally pimply chins.

There have been oddities so horrific that fourth-years have vowed to never utter a word about them.

Unfortunately, the aftermath of what happens when the love potion _does_ work is usually twice as bad than when the potion doesn't work.

The love from a love potion isn't real love.

It's infatuation.

It's obsession.

It's _dangerous_.

Now, enough of this boring Potions lesson, and back to the main story, where our heroes must successfully brew a Polyjuice Potion.

Four doses of Polyjuice Potion, to be exact.

"Do you have the list?" Cat Noir asked.

"Yep," Ladybug answered, removing a scroll from her pocket. "We'll need lacewing flies, leeches, knotgrass, fluxweed, shredded boomslang skin, and laughblossom tendrils to replace the powdered bicorn horn. The tendrils reduce the brewing time to only two weeks. It's the 11th, so we have to start brewing it today."

"Most of those are in Professor Mendeleiev's storeroom," Cat Noir said. "We'll have to pluck the tendrils from my- errr, the first-years' laughblossom plants in Greenhouse Three. The tendrils regrow quickly. Let's pay a visit to Mendeleiev's storeroom first."

They crept through the halls until they reached a large closet in the dungeons.

"Let's tear the list in half. It'll be quicker," Ladybug insisted.

They rummaged through the shelves of strange ingredients.

"I found the fluxweed and lacewing flies!" Cat Noir grinned.

"That's a little high up-"

A cardboard box full of jars crashed to the ground.

 _SMASH!_

Ladybug and Cat Noir froze for a few minutes.

"You have to be more careful!" Ladybug whispered.

They gathered the rest of the ingredients in total silence and cleaned up the mess of jars.

"To Greenhouse Three we go," Cat Noir said.

As soon as they stepped outside, they were hit with freezing gusts of wind.

"L-Let's just g-g-get this over w-with," Ladybug chattered.

"Maybe we can s-snuggle for warmth a-and-"

"In y-your dreams," Ladybug laughed.

"It w-was worth a tr-try," Cat Noir shivered.

They opened the door to Greenhouse Three and slammed it shut as soon as they entered.

"Much better," Ladybug sighed. "Which laughblossom flower looks the most healthy?"

"That one," Cat Noir responded, pointing to his and Nino's.

He would feel guilty if he messed up anyone else's Herbology grade.

Hopefully, the tendrils would grow back before Professor Whipwind noticed.

"These plants can scream, so we need to make it quick," Ladybug said.

She wrapped her yo-yo's string around the laughblossom flower's tendrils and pulled.

The tendrils came clean off.

Then the shrieking began.

The flower was wailing bloody murder.

"Make it stop!" Ladybug yelled.

"There's emergency salve in one of the cupboards!" Cat Noir shouted.

He thrust open the leftmost supplies cupboard and grabbed a container full of a blue pasty substance.

"Throw it here!" Ladybug yelled.

Cat Noir chucked the container at his partner and she rubbed the paste onto the laughblossom's severed stem.

The plant immediately stopped screaming.

"Thank goodness that the greenhouses are soundproof," Ladybug said.

"Now we have to brew the potion. I'll keep the cauldron in my clothes drawer and check it over the next two weeks. I don't think that the house elves will question it," Cat Noir said.

"Well, my bunkmate will probably notice if I have a cauldron in my drawer, so I guess you can have it," Ladybug shrugged.

"Let's brew the potion here," Cat Noir suggested.

He presented a copper cauldron that he had taken from Professor Mendeleiev's storeroom earlier.

They chopped, powdered, and juiced the ingredients and dropped them into the cauldron.

"Are you really _that_ rich?" Ladybug asked.

"I'm the heir to my family's legacy. I have so much to inherit, but I… I just don't know what to do with any of it," Cat Noir confessed. "When I'm older, I'm going to donate some of the money to St. Mungo's. Other than that, I don't have a plan."

"So you aren't a stray," Ladybug smiled.

"Nope," Cat Noir said. "I'm an aristo _cat_."

"Do you spend hours on end researching cat puns?" Ladybug demanded.

"I im _purr_ vise," Cat Noir grinned.

Ladybug groaned.

They spent an hour concocting the Polyjuice Potion and talking about puns.

Both of them secretly wished that that hour could last forever.

… **..**

 **I feel so guilty about not updating. I'll have more time to write over the summer. Thanks for being patient!**


	11. The Dangers of Polyjuice Potion (Part 1)

**I'm being honest this time. Here's the Yule Ball, Christmas break,** _ **and**_ **an akuma, OTPeople.**

…

 _ **Chapter 10: The Dangers of Polyjuice Potion (Part One)**_

 _Stage 3 of the Yule Ball Blizzard: Advanced Potions (Continued)_

As Christmas approached, fires roared and winter apparel went out of stock.

Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures lessons had been moved indoors.

It was one of these Herbology classes in which the first-years were harvesting poisoned apples from Mortiferum Fructum trees that the third-years had raised.

Adrien Agreste, a Slytherin, also had a very serious question to ask Felix Bösedrachen, a Mystrik.

"Hey, Felix. Can I request….uhhhh….a favor from you?" Adrien nervously asked.

"Only if it's important," Felix huffed, plucking yet another poisonous red apple from a Mortiferum Fructum and dropping it into a bucket.

"It's really important," Adrien assured. "I can't be at the Yule Ball, but I'm one of the champions, so I _need_ to be there. I'm making a few doses of Polyjuice Potion. Could you take my place?"

"I might not be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas break," Felix said.

Adrien's face fell. "Oh. Where are you-"

"My parents want me to join them in Jamaica for the holidays, but I don't _have_ to go. Your little scheme might be the most interesting thing that's happened to me in years," Felix mused.

"So that's a yes?" Adrien hopefully said.

"It's a maybe," Felix corrected. "So, why can't you be at the Yule Ball?"

"My father and I are spending our Christmas in France," Adrien lied, fidgeting with the apple in his hands.

"Then no," Felix frowned.

"What do you mean, _no_?" Adrien asked.

"My family's always had the job to protect innocents from the Wizengamot's unfair trials. They're wizard lawyers, so to speak. Lawyers like the Bösedrachens don't like to lose. If you don't trust me, I don't have all of the facts. Don't give me that look. _You_ knew it was a lie. _I_ knew it was a lie. If I am not properly informed on every detail of the situation, I won't win," Felix explained.

"This isn't a court case," Adrien exasperatedly said.

"But it is," Felix contradicted. "Someone's making a risky choice by attempting to either expose or cover up the truth, and someone's making an even riskier choice by helping them. Replace those someones with you and me, Adrien. That, in my eyes, is a court case, and quite a bad one. The Bösedrachens never take risks. We know our clients. We know their intents. We help the winning side. One wrong move could put my family's reputation in jeopardy. Imagine it, the Bösedrachen legacy in ruins because of a scandal involving the Agreste heir. No, that wouldn't do. If you refuse to tell me your purpose, I refuse to help you. I don't know your motives. Therefore, you are untrustworthy and helping you is risky. I avoid risks. It's as simple as that."

"But I….. But I… Please! It's for four hours, it won't be that long!" Adrien begged.

"What's your secret, Adrien?" Felix maliciously smirked. "What's so incredibly important that you won't tell me?"

Adrien felt like he had an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other.

 _Don't tell him your secret identity! You hardly know the guy! Go find someone else to be you for four measly hours!_ the angel screamed.

 _It would be easier to tell him that you're Cat Noir. Besides, you don't have anyone else left to ask,_ the devil chuckled.

"Class dismissed!" Professor Whipwind announced.

"Tell me or don't. It's your choice, client," Felix said.

He walked out of Greenhouse One, completely unfazed by the cold.

 _How fitting,_ Adrien bitterly thought. _An icy day to match his icy heart._

…

 _Meanwhile, A Few Feet Away_

"Bridgette, can I ask you something?" Marinette began.

"Ask away!" Bridgette smiled.

"You have to promise to be quiet about it," Marinette continued. "Nobody else can know about this. Not even Alya knows. I'm putting all of my trust on your shoulders. Got it?"

"Got it," Bridgette nodded.

"I can't exactly _be_ at the Yule Ball, but I need to be there since I'm the Gryffindor champion. I'm brewing some doses of Polyjuice Potion as we speak. Can you please be me for a night?" Marinette whispered.

"Of course!" Bridgette grinned. "I can't believe that you and Adrien are finally together!"

"What?" Marinette yelped.

"Everyone's been watching how lovey-dovey you two are around each other," Bridgette giggled. "Whether it's the first task or library study dates, you're meant to be! I'm totally okay with you guys sneaking out to have a secret date during the Yule Ball. I thought you guys would be the PDA couple around here, but I guess it takes time for your relationship to develop."

"Yup. Our relationship," Marinette muttered, her face redder than Nathaniel's hair.

 _Whatever she says. Anything's better than the real reason,_ she thought.

"How did you hear about this secret date?" Marinette sputtered.

"Oh, it's not really a secret anymore. Everyone in the school knows, except for the Slytherins," Bridgette said. "They would tell Chloe, and we can't have that happening, can we?"

" _Excuse me?"_ Marinette wheezed.

The Joltcastle stuck her tongue out. "Yeah, some of the Slytherins can be such killjoys, especially Chloe. It wouldn't be fun if she knew. I can't wait to be you at the Yule Ball!"

"Class dismissed!" Professor Whipwind announced.

Bridgette pulled on her coat and skipped out of Greenhouse One.

Marinette did likewise (except for the skipping) and caught up with Alya.

"Do you know why everyone thinks that Adrien and I have scheduled a secret date?" the former asked.

"As much as I hate Ernest Skeeter, he's doing wonders for your love life. He's the one who published the article about your date," Alya said.

"When Luna Lovegood writes an article on how Nargles are the biggest threat to society today, nobody believes her! But when Ernest says something about my supposedly romantic relationship with Adrien, God forbid that somebody isn't talking about it!" Marinette groaned.

"I already filtered the article with a few jinxes. Adrien and the other Slytherins can't see it," Alya said.

"Thanks," Marinette mumbled. "Although I _do_ wish that our date was real."

"It'll happen someday," Alya said. "Ask him to meet you where you won't be disturbed, and pour out your feelings. The worst that can happen is rejection, right? Adrien likes you, Marinette. To be honest, I'm not sure if he loves you yet. That matter rests in your hands. Just ask him!"

"Alya," Marinette sighed. "Not all Gryffindors are brave."

…

 _Stage 4 of the Yule Ball Blizzard: Dates and Disputes_

Pressure slowly covered the boys like snowflakes.

Who would be the first guy to ask a girl to be their date?

How would he ask her?

Would she say yes?

The boys were at a stalemate.

Nobody dared to volunteer.

It was on December 13th, a Saturday, when they received their answer.

There was a Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff Quidditch game, the last game before Christmas break.

When Matthew Heinrich caught the Golden Snitch, a huge yellow banner with black letters showed up in the middle of the stands.

 _ELLIE MCCOLLINS, WILL YOU BE MY DATE FOR THE YULE BALL? ~DANIEL ASHWORTH_

The Hufflepuff Chaser nearly fell off of her broom with joy.

"Yes!" Ellie shouted.

The Hufflepuffs cheered even louder.

Ellie zoomed over to Daniel and kissed him.

The female Quidditch announcers' giggles were heard over the intercom.

"It looks like we're witnessing two firsts today," Nino commented. "It's Hufflepuff's first win of the season and the first official pair for the Yule Ball."

"Gentlemen, you better ask those ladies quickly, or else you'll be going single," Alec said.

Everyone congratulated Ellie and Daniel as they exited the stands and entered the school.

"Daniel's gone ahead and done it. This spells out doom for every guy in Hogwarts. _We have to find dates_ ," Adrien whispered to his best friend in horror.

"It'll be easy for _you_ ," Nino glumly said. "But you have a big disadvantage. You'll have to pull a Mad-Eye."

"Pull a what?" Adrien asked.

"A Mad-Eye. Bring your own flask everywhere you go," Nino said. "Those girls'll be filling your cups with love potion. Be careful what you drink, or else it's going to be the last thing you remember before you start obsessing over a girl you've never met."

"I'm sure it won't be _that_ extreme," Adrien frowned.

"That's what Richard's doing," Nino said. "Don't trust any suspicious food, alright? I don't want to carry you to the hospital wing."

"Mmhmm," Adrien mumbled.

"Great game, Mari!" Nino beamed as she and Alya walked over.

Both of them had thermoses filled with hot chocolate.

"Where'd you get the cocoa?" Adrien asked.

"Grace made some for everyone on the team," Marinette squeaked. "I got some for you, too!"

"Thanks!" Nino grinned. "Watch out, Adrien, it might be laced with love potion."

"What? I wouldn't! I would never do that!" Marinette blushed.

"Nino, join the party in the common room!" a boy in the large mass of cheering Hufflepuffs shouted.

The members of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team were hoisted onto the crowd's shoulders.

"I guess I'll be be partying. Goodbye!" Nino said.

"The school paper also needs a new article on Hogwarts' newest couple, so I'll be off, too," Alya added.

The Hufflepuff and the Ravenclaw walked away and snickered about something or other.

Adrien sipped his hot chocolate.

"That feels much better," he happily sighed. "It's good, but it couldn't compare to Nooky's recipe."

"Who's Nooky?" Marinette asked.

"He's one of the house elves. They know that I'm on a model's diet, but they feel guilty and I sometimes find a parcel of biscuits on my bunk bed. I leave them notes telling them that I'm okay. The elves ignore my notes anyway and insist on stuffing me with food. I can't help myself anymore. The best chef in the world couldn't cook something as good as the the house elves' food," Adrien replied.

"That's so sweet of them," Marinette smiled.

She bumped into a group that consisted entirely of Gryffindors and Slytherins.

Everyone was silent, except for a few stray murmurs.

"Hey, what's happening? I can't see!" Adrien whispered.

"We'll have to get a closer look," Marinette whispered back.

The two first-years wriggled their way to the front of the crowd.

Alix and Kim were scribbling something onto scrolls and occasionally showed them to Max, who shook his head every time.

"What's all this about?" Adrien muttered.

"It's another one of their dares," a second-year Slytherin answered. "They're going to have a competition where the loser has to ask the winner out to the Yule Ball. They can't seem to agree on what the competition is going to be, though. We're just waiting for the start of another epic interhouse war. It's going to be twice as awesome as the time when the Weasley twins outwitted a few Slytherin prank lords. We're going to beat the Gryffindors this round!"

Kim wrote five simple words onto his scroll and handed it to Max.

The Ravenclaw raised his eyebrows and thought over the idea.

After three minutes, he nodded.

The crowd erupted with questions.

"What does the paper say?"

"What are you gonna do?"

"How long will it last?"

"Are we involved?"

Alix immediately grabbed the scroll and cleared her throat.

"Food fight at high noon!" Alix announced. "But I think I'll add a minor detail. Everyone's invited!"

The crowd tittered with excitement.

"It looks like you'll have to ask me to the Yule Ball, half-pint," Kim smirked.

"I think you meant it the other way around, Jolly Green Giant," Alix teased.

" _Roasted_!" a Gryffindor yelled. "Where's the popcorn? This is getting _real!"_

"Hey Kim, do you need some ice for that burn?" a Slytherin shouted.

"We'll see who'll win at noon!" Kim sputtered, too embarrassed to come up with a better insult. "And that person's gonna be _me!"_

He stormed off.

"That gives us an hour," Marinette said. "I'll go to the Great Hall ten minutes before noon so I can eat lunch before I'm covered in lunch."

"Sounds like a plan," Adrien agreed. "Do you want to crash the Hufflepuff party with me?"

"Yeah! They probably have really good snacks since they're right next to the kitchen," Marinette said.

They strolled to the kitchen and maneuvered their way into a small space amongst a mountain of barrels.

Adrien tapped a barrel in a seemingly rhythmic pattern and an oak door swung open, revealing a short but wide hallway that was devoid of light.

"Voila!" he grinned. "Lumos."

He disappeared into the pitch black passageway.

Marinette hesitantly followed him.

"Lumos," she said. "It looks like nobody's used this entrance for decades. Are you sure that this is the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room?"

"You're right about one thing. These hallways haven't been used since the Second Wizarding War. They were too damaged to magically repair when Hogwarts burned down, so they built another a new system. The Hufflepuffs keep on changing the tapping combination and I can never get it right. I was sprayed with pumpkin juice the last time. Sometimes I wish I had a drop of Felix Felicis once in a while," Adrien said.

Marinette tripped on a discarded lantern, falling on her face, and a cloud of dust surrounded her.

"I could've helped you with the combination," she coughed. "I prefer pumpkin juice over dark, filthy halls anyway. Chloe's perfume couldn't even get rid of the smell of rats' droppings in here."

Adrien picked her up.

"I can't disagree with you on that one," he laughed. "Chloe's mom gave her a bottle of perfume for her fifth birthday. She accidentally dropped it in my father's office one day and the carpet reeked of rosebuds for a month. Chloe couldn't stop apologizing and she acted like she ruined his entire career. It was hilarious!"

"Are you talking about another Chloe?" Marinette asked.

"No, it was Chloe Bourgeois who did that. She was different back then. You know, before- never mind, I shouldn't be talking about someone else's business. We're here!" Adrien said.

 _Before what?_ Marinette wondered.

Adrien pushed a door open and they leaped into the Hufflepuff Common Room.

They weren't the only party crashers; robes of red, blue, and green were like small islands in the sea of yellow and black.

"It's a Weird Sisters song!" Adrien said. "I haven't heard them in ages!"

"It sounds newer. I think it's a remix," Marinette said.

"Yep! It's a DJ Nino original," Nino confirmed.

He had set up a turntable booth and scratched an old CD with his wand.

"That's awesome!" Marinette gasped. "You _have_ to play this at the Yule Ball. Everyone's going to love it!"

"You think so?" Nino smiled.

"Listen, buddy, you're opening for Jagged Stone, and he thinks your music is, quote unquote, 'wicked awesome.'The Weird Sisters would be proud," Adrien said.

"Jagged Stone heard my music?!" Nino screeched.

"I've got connections," Adrien chuckled.

"Thank you!" Nino said. "And I'm using my _old_ CDs. Wait until the Yule Ball! I have a new collection of records that are specifically for DJing."

"I can't wait to hear your remixes!" Marinette said.

"Do you want to be my dancing partner again, Mari?" Adrien asked.

"Only if you've improved," Marinette giggled.

Adrien led her onto the dance floor. "Rest assured, because I most definitely haven't!"

They danced until they couldn't take another step without aching.

"That took a lot out of me," Marinette panted. "Give me a minute, and then we'll go to the Great Hall."

She and Adrien slumped onto a couch, right next to Alya, who was sound asleep.

Marinette poked the Ravenclaw awake.

"Hi, Mari," Alya yawned. "Butterbeer. Way too much of it. There's nothing like a little nap to remove your tipsiness. I'm hungry. Let's get lunch."

The three students walked to the Great Hall, where a handful of students were already eating lunch.

They split up and munched on pasta, mashed potatoes, and just about any food you could imagine.

Other teenagers gradually filled the Great Hall, until everyone except Alix and Kim was there.

"Where are those two?" Nathaniel muttered. "They're the ones who came up with the food fight idea in the first place."

"It's 12:58. They're bound to be here soon," Marinette replied.

She suddenly dropped her fork and it fell onto her plate with a loud clatter.

"I'm having a horrible realization," she said.

"What?" Nathaniel asked.

"The Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs. _They don't know about the food fight_ ," Marinette whispered.

"Oh dear," Nathaniel mumbled.

Alix and Kim solemnly marched into the Great Hall.

The Gryffindors and Slytherins fell silent, but the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws carried on with their soon-to-be-ruined meals.

Kim and Alix raced to their respective tables and wolfed down their food as quickly as they could.

Then, as if it was in slow motion, a piece of sushi soared across the room and slid down a Slytherin boy's back.

The few teachers that were there didn't seem to notice.

The room fell silent.

Without a word, the boy stood up, whirled around, and sent a salami and mayonnaise sandwich flying towards the Gryffindor table.

His trajectory was poor and the sandwich ended up splattering across a Ravenclaw girl's chest.

She calmly wiped the mayonnaise off of her robes.

Her friends whipped out their wands and sent a barrage of dinner rolls zooming in every direction.

A Gryffindor girl yelled what was on all of their minds.

"FOOD FIGHT!"

Soon, cuisine of all colors filled the air.

Some of the teachers had even joined in on the fun, though most of the school staff hid underneath their table.

Professor Damocles dumped a goblet of pumpkin juice onto Professor Bustier's head.

The Ramhorns students were having a blast as well, especially Headmaster Freeburrow.

Nathaniel, who had peas stuck in his hair, narrowly dodged a beef dumpling, which smacked Alix in the back of the head.

"How dare they?! Mari, I need you to make a truce with the Ravenclaws! That way, it'll be two against one and I can win more easily! _Go!"_ she ordered.

Marinette crawled to the Ravenclaw table.

It had lots of Shield Charms placed around it.

"Incoming chicken!" Alya shouted.

With a flick of her wand, Marinette sent an entire baked chicken back at the Hufflepuff who had tried to hit her with it.

"This is insane!" Alya grinned. "I've never been in a food fight before, but with magic, it feels twice as fun as a regular one would be! Does this usually happen around Christmas?"

"No, I'd say this is a first," Marinette responded, maneuvering around flying bits of macaroni casserole. "Alix and Kim challenged each other to a food fight. The loser has to ask the winner to the Yule Ball. Alix wants to make an alliance with the Ravenclaws. That's why I'm here."

"Why shouldn't we? All of those who want the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws to be allies, say I!" Alya shouted.

"I," said most of the Ravenclaws.

"THE RAVENCLAWS AND GRYFFINDORS HAVE FORMED AN ALLIANCE!" Alix yelled.

"That's not fair!" Kim yelled, standing up on the Slytherin table.

"It is too!" Alix hollered.

"THE HUFFLEPUFFS AND SLYTHERINS HAVE FORMED AN ALLIANCE!" Kim cried out.

A large strawberry shortcake collided with his stomach like a sugary, frosting-covered missile and knocked him off of the table.

"Let them eat cake!" Alix cackled.

The plates thought that it was time for dessert and they refilled themselves with sweets.

Wands were eventually forgotten and the students found just as much enjoyment in throwing food with their bare hands.

Back at the Slytherin table, things were going just as bad.

"No! My hair!" Chloe shrieked.

Her normally golden coiffure was laced with mashed potatoes and maple syrup.

"It's ruined! Utterly ruined!" she whined.

Meanwhile, Adrien was having the best time of his life.

He and Nino had formed a fortress out of used dishes and placemats and chucked cupcakes at other people like professional baseball players.

"I'm glad my father's not here to see this! He would have a fit!" Adrien grinned.

"I'm going to take a long, _long_ shower after this. I have bread crusts in places where there aren't supposed to be bread crusts," Nino said.

"Who do you think is winning the fight?" Adrien asked.

"If I had to take an honest guess, I'd say neither," Nino shrugged.

"Then we'll just have to fight harder!" Adrien said.

Just then, a pie was thrown.

And it landed on Headmaster Fu's face.

Everyone in the room froze, except for Chloe, who continued to sob about what horrible things extra virgin olive oil would do to her skin.

Adrien refrained from throwing a cupcake mid-pitch.

Marinette had three strawberry crepes and an over-easy egg in her hands and her pigtails dripped with soy sauce.

The left lens of Alya's glasses was smothered with ice cream and sliced carrots plastered her sleeves.

Nino had a large piece of jellied and buttered toast stuck to his forehead.

The pie tin slowly fell from Headmaster Fu's face, which was now covered with white filling.

"Coconut creme. My favorite," he remarked.

Not a single comment was heard.

"I'll let this food fight continue for five more minutes. Then those who need punishment will be punished. Freeburrow, I must say that you really do look silly with enchiladas in your beard," he chuckled.

Headmaster Freeburrow embarrassedly combed through his beard with his barbeque sauce-covered fingers, only making things worse.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Resume the fight! This should be interesting," Headmaster Fu said.

Torrents of food whizzed over (and landed on) everyone's heads for the next five minutes.

With a flick of Headmaster Fu's wand, all of the food disappeared.

Except for the food that was stuck to people's bodies and robes.

"Will the party, _ahem,_ parties that are responsible for the food fight please step forward?" Headmaster Fu asked.

Alix and Kim were pushed forward.

"I see," Headmaster Fu said. "Three weeks of detention each. Now, what inspired you to start this food fight?"

Alix mumbled something under her breath.

"Speak up," Headmaster Fu commanded.

"TheloserofthefoodfighthastoaskthewinnertotheYuleBall," Alix quickly muttered.

"We're not getting anywhere with this," Headmaster Fu sighed. "What sort of dare is this, Kim?"

"Uh...the...l-loser...of the food fight….has to...has to a-ask….the winner..to be their partner for the Yule Ball," Kim hastily explained.

"That backfired, obviously," Headmaster Fu said. "Nobody won. Rock-paper-scissors would be a better way to resolve your romantic issues, no?"

"I have _not_ got any-"

"As if I could be in love with a bloody idiot like him-"

"Most _ridiculous_ assumption I've ever heard-"

"You must be barmy in the head-"

"We're not even friends-"

"But if it really boils down to a game of rock-paper-scissors, we'll just end it with that," Alix huffed.

She chose scissors and Kim chose rock.

"Now you have to ask me-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Alix grumbled. "Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?"

"I can't hear you~" Kim sang.

" _Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?_ " Alix shouted.

"Sure!" Kim smirked.

The students cheered.

Someone wolf-whistled.

"Shut up, we're not even dating!" Alix whined.

"While I am happy about you two being partners, we must go to my office to further discuss the details of your detentions," Headmaster Fu interrupted.

He led the Gryffindor and the Slytherin out of the Great Hall.

"All of this. _All_ of this could've been solved with rock-paper-scissors," Marinette groaned.

"Last one to the showers is a rotten dragon egg!" Alya yelled, dashing to the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Everybody clamored to get to the showers first.

Marinette shook her head and droplets of soy sauce settled onto her shoulders.

"This might take a while," she laughed.

She hummed and walked towards the prefects' bathroom.

…

"Kumar's staring at you again," Sophie Montgomery whispered.

Eve straightened her back and bewilderedly looked around, almost knocking her History of Magic textbook off of her desk.

"I was joking," Sophie giggled. "You should ask him out to the Yule Ball! I'm pretty sure he would say yes."

"I'd like to, but _no_ ," Eve frowned. "We've been neighbors since we were kids, and he only sees me as a friend. Maybe I can go with William."

"You deserve someone much better than my little brother. Someone like Kumar!" Sophie said.

"Okay, I'll ask him out!"

"Really?!"

"No."

As much as she liked Sophie, Eve wasn't afraid to admit that Sophie could be a bit pushy at times.

But still, Eve appreciated the Ravenclaw girl's offer of friendship.

Attending a new school didn't feel as scary when she had a friend.

Eve hadn't expected to be chosen as the Mystrik champion.

In fact, the only reason she had submitted her name to the Goblet of Fire was because she was sure that her crush, fourth-year Kumar Khatri, would be chosen as the Twynebud champion.

If Eve was the Mystrik champion, she had the chance to compete with Kumar.

She wouldn't ever let that rat Ernest Skeeter ever find out, though.

Eve was very good at secret-keeping and lying through her teeth.

But Kumar wasn't chosen.

A second-year girl named Samantha was.

And she was paired with a Joltcastle third-year boy named Nick, whom Eve could never recognize because he had a habit of changing his appearance every day.

Which meant that Eve was paired with fourth-year Christopher Sterling, also known as Kumar's best friend.

Eve had tried to get him to talk about Kumar during the first task, but the guy barely said ten sentences to her that night.

So she scrapped that idea and continued pining for her crush, still unnoticed by him, just like the past eight years.

Everything would change now.

She was going to ask him out.

He always hung around in the hallways after classes, usually reading while leaning against the wall.

Eve peeked around the corner.

He was there, as to be expected.

Sophie appeared from the opposite end of the hallway.

"Oh! Hey, Sophie!" Kumar grinned. "I was waiting here for you...since you walk down this hallway every day...uh, I've always had trouble asking people questions like this, but...Will you be my date to the Yale Ball?"

Eve felt like she had been shoved underwater.

 _No, no, it's not happening,_ she thought. _It's not happening, it's a dream, she's going to say no, you can trust Sophie, she's your friend, your only friend besides Kumar._

"Yes!"

Eve was drowning, she couldn't swim, she needed air, she needed to _breathe_ , and she was running, running, running-

" _Eve?"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _Eve, I was wondering if we could be friends forever! Best friends!"_

 _Four-year-old Kumar handed her a snowflake clip._

" _Merry Christmas! I hope you like it! Wear this as long as we're best friends, alright?"_

" _That means I'll never take it off!"_

 _She put the clip in her hair._

" _Thank you, Kumar!"_

She rushed out of Hogwarts and the winds of winter enveloped her.

Her fingers became numb and she couldn't feel the freezing snowflake clip as she yanked it out of her hair.

 _We're no longer friends, are we_? Eve thought.

 _Forever._

 _What a lie._

She scanned the lake for an area that wasn't completely frozen over.

She found her target and was ready to throw the clip into the lake.

It was too bad that Eve didn't see the dark butterfly that landed on it.

…

 **Oh. So, uh. The things that have happened while I was gone:**

 **I watched The Devil Is A Part-Timer and Your Lie in April. Twice, for the latter.**

 **I finished every episode of Axis Powers Hetalia and the movie and I've been consumed by the fandom.**

 **I also watched Voltron: Legendary Defenders.**

 **I read lots of fanfiction for multiple fandoms.**

 **I spent way too much time on Pinterest.**

 **I procrastinated.**

 **I've learned how to curse in British English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Icelandic, Belarusian, Japanese, and Chinese.**

 **The anniversaries of the start of my fanfiction account and the publication date of my first story, as well as** _ **The Magic Between Us,**_ **happened.**

 **My birthday passed.**

 **I drew multiple pieces of fanart.**

 _ **SEASON FREAKING 2 CAME OUT.**_

 _ **SIX episodes of Season Freaking 2 came out.**_

 **Hawkmoth has been revealed to be Gabriel Agreste.**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...?!**

 **Part Two of this chapter will be out within a week or so. No promises. Adios for now.**


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